


The Unseen

by SunHater



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Explicit Language, Foreshadowing, Gen, Horror, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Paranormal, Series, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 45,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22409773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunHater/pseuds/SunHater
Summary: A horror/mystery story about Susie and Kris hunting and disposing of beasts, anomalous creatures, and otherwise abnormal things.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29





	1. Sleepless

**Author's Note:**

> Catcher is technically a prequel, but not required reading.
> 
> Very special thanks to Stinkin_Thinkin, he's been a wonderful help with all the chapters thus far and they would certainly be illegible otherwise.

“The thought that all beasts can be easily categorized is a childish one. There will always be new foes to face off against. Be prepared for anything, from any direction, lest your life be swiftly taken.”

~Hunter's Manual

A quaint, unassuming village sits in the middle of a large prairie. Tall grass and wheat fields in almost every direction sway back and forth, never static save for in the dead of the night.

A horrifying scream always follows the stillness, its source unseen.

Around a hundred miles away, Susie sat half awake in the passenger seat of a large, nondescript, jet black van. Her baggy, half lidded eyes barely focused on the dark city streets in front of her as litter and debris blew around the empty road and sidewalk. The morning sunlight only barely peaked around the faded brick apartments surrounding her. Susie breathed in deeply, and sighed as her breath fogged up the window in front of her. The front of the van itself was fairly well kept, aside from a few cups strewn around the bottom which neither she nor Kris had bothered to clean. The sound of a door shutting shook Susie out of her haze, and she quickly brushed the hair in her face behind her back. Her hair, now reaching the middle of her back, had to be tied up quite frequently to keep it from being in the way.

Susie looked out the driver side window and watched as a similarly tired Kris walked towards the van. They were both wearing jeans and white shirts with black overcoats, the preferred attire for their line of work. Kris silently opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. He closed the door behind him and let a small beige folder he was holding rest on his lap. They both, in unison, sighed heavily, as Kris scratched his stubble nonchalantly.

“Well. You're not gonna like this.” Kris said hesitantly.

“Another late night case?”

“Yeah. It's gonna suck.”

“Lay it on me.”

Kris passed the folder over to Susie.

“Small town down south, 'Smog', I think. About two hours' drive. We've gotten a couple reports of screams echoing across the town very late at night. Its a pretty rural place, filled with farmers who've probably been living there all their lives. So I'd trust them when they say they've heard nothing like it before.”

“Any sightings?”

“Not that they're aware of. No casualties either, not even any wildlife or livestock. Just... screams.”

“You sure this is our area of expertise?”

“Berdly seems to think so. The guys who called us referred to whatever is making the scream as a 'demon'. Though that might just be small town superstition. Anyway, it never hurts to make sure.”

Kris started the van, the engine revving to life as he immediately headed off towards their destination.

“Hurts my sleep schedule.” Susie muttered.

Susie was quite impressed with Kris. After seven years he'd gotten over the silence he relied on pretty well. It was natural in their line of work since a lot of questioning had to be done on the various mysteries and creatures they faced. Not to mention the back and forth between him and Susie was essential for solving issues and expanding upon ideas. He was still rather formal with most people, but Susie had known him for long enough that he felt comfortable dropping that trait in her presence. Susie had mostly stayed the same, though she was a bit more reserved as the energy of her teens had long since faded away.

What energy she had left needed to be conserved. Luckily, the length of the drive gave her ample opportunity to do so. With nothing on the way there to look at but miles and miles of grain silos and empty fields, she had to try her hardest not to simply fall asleep again. Kris had similar issues, but as monotonous as driving would tend to be, it was able to hold his attention enough to keep him from drifting off. The roads were mostly empty save for a few old looking trucks passing by them, making the atmosphere of the area quite lonely. About an hour and forty five minutes later, the town of Smog appeared on the horizon. As the town came into view, so too did the large storm cloud hanging above it.

“Well, the usual approach then?” Kris drawled.

“Ask questions while the sun's up and look for the monster by night?”

“Yep. Any idea what it could be?”

“At first I thought it was a Wendigo, but if it's been staying out of sight and not harming anything, that doesn't sound right. If it's actively trying to hide, that storm isn't gonna help either.”

Susie chuckled halfheartedly.

“If it is a Wendigo though, this'll be a piece of cake.”

“Yeah, this easily could've gotten handed off to a newer team.”

Both Kris and Susie sat up in their seats as their destination inched closer and closer.

“It's that 'If' that worries me.” Kris stated.

The pair entered the limits of the modest town. Viewed from a distance, the place could be mistaken for abandoned. Up close, it wasn't much better aside from the one or two cars that would happen to pass by the van. The light brown streets trawled across the town like circuits, and on each were innumerable pieces of miscellaneous litter. Plastic cups, wrappers of all kinds, and grocery bags were scattered across the dusted, cracked asphalt. In addition, it also seemed like every other house was either abandoned or looked like they should be due to the decrepit nature of their structure. Multiple households, if they could even be called that, sat leaning on crooked foundations. As Kris drove further into town, signs of life began to get more and more frequent. Houses became more or less stable, and the litter cleared a bit. There were even a few monsters roaming the sidewalks. Suddenly, Susie's phone rang and shook her from her tired and nervous state, jumping in her seat slightly. Kris huffed out a subtle laugh as Susie dug inside her pockets, pulling the mobile phone from her pocket and putting it on speaker.

“Berdly?”

“Hey, you guys at the place yet?”

“Smog, yeah. Are you sure this is the right town? For a second I thought everyone disappeared from this place a long time ago.”

“That's what the caller told me. Uhm, I think it was way more popular a couple decades ago when the gold rush happened. Looks like the people dried up with the gold, though. Sorta looks like a tourist trap now.”

“Well, where are we meeting the caller?”

“There's an inn on the south side of town. Called uh, 'Smog Inn', fittingly enough. Looks like it gets the most traffic cause it's next to a big highway. Anyway, the caller said her name was Carol. Just ask at the front desk.”

“Thanks, dude.”

“Oh, uh, before you go... People around there may act a bit suspicious around you. Not sure if it's the old age or small town paranoia, but I'd watch what you say.”

Susie rolled her eyes.

“Thought it'd be like that. Thanks.”

“No problem. Stay safe, guys.”

The phone beeped as the call ended, and Susie slipped her phone back into her pocket. It took only a few moments before the inn entered her line of sight. Kris drove into the inn's parking lot from its backside via the adjoining road.. Across from this parking lot was a fairly busy highway, making the inn's placement on the outskirts of town reasonable. Across from the town was yet another seemingly endless field of tall wheat, swaying more and more erratically as the churning storm on the horizon threatened to inch closer. The inn itself was nothing special, a standard large building made up of two floors, with maybe twelve guest rooms on each floor. One side of the building had large windows that looked into a lounge area, while the other side seemed to be mainly inn room windows. Aside from the dark wood entrance doors in the middle of the building, which seemed as old as the rest of the town, the rest of the hotel seemed in pretty good shape from the outside. The pair both wordlessly attributed this sudden raise in standards to the building's status as the main attraction of the town. In any case, they had arrived at their destination.

Susie stepped onto the smooth gravel of the parking lot and winced as she stretched her arms to the sky, the boredom of the car ride and her rampant exhaustion both being lessened at once. Fresh air drenched her lungs and the chilled prairie winds hit her face like a splash of ice water, waking her from her stupor just as well. Kris, on the other hand, seemed just as exhausted as ever. A soft sigh was barely heard from his lips as he slouched, hands in both of his pockets. Despite the trip only being about two hours long, they were both quite tired, even if Susie handled it better than Kris. Susie smirked and walked over to him, patting him on the back.

“Come on, lighten up a bit. That stuffy van was bad enough, you don't have to bring the dreariness with you.” She jabbed.

“I feel like I'm about to pass out.”

“Don't worry, they've gotta have some coffee in there, that'll get you into shape.”

Kris let out a faint sigh through his nose and continued with Susie past the front doors. The inside of the building was musty with a smell of old wood and cigarette smoke. The lobby, though well furnished with leather couches and glass tables, was surprisingly ill-kept. Imprints of fingers varying in size and shape dotted nearly every surface, and garbage bins overflowed with rubbish. Signs of recent life were everywhere, but said life was missing entirely. Save for one cycloptic bird monster at the receptionist's desk. Her red feathers glistened softly in what light still leaked in through the windows as she idly stared at her computer screen. One thing that stood out was that her eye looked particularly bloodshot. Once Susie and Kris had approached her, she looked up and was shaken from her funk.

“Ah, hello there.” She spoke in poorly dampened excitement, her faint southern accent leaking through.

“Hello. I'll assume you're Carol.” Kris replied in a deadpan tone. “We were called a couple days ago to look at a few, erm... pests?”

“Knew it. You're here to purge the demon, are ya?”

It took every fibre of Susie's being to not roll her eyes.

“Yes, the 'demon'. We were told the mayor would be here to meet us today to discuss this matter.”

“Yes sir, he's in a meeting right now, but he should be out soon. Meanwhile, may I treat you both to a seat in the lounge and a meal? Mayor told me I could give it to y'all on the house.”

“That would be excellent, thank you.”

“Great! Right this way. What'll it be?”

“I'll have a three cream, three sugar coffee, please. My associate will have a black coffee.”

“And to eat?”

“Nothing for me. Susie?”

Kris and the receptionist both looked back to Susie, who trailed behind them.

“... Got any chalk?”

“Erm... I'm sure we can find some?”

“Three small sticks or one large one will be plenty.”

“And, uhm... Do you want a specifi-”

“Any colour is fine, thanks.”

Slightly bewildered, but eager nonetheless, the perky monster led them to a much larger side room where the lounge was situated. It was much better maintained than the lobby, thankfully, considering the focus on food and drink. The tables were adorned with silver tablecloths, and the chairs were wood with a dark shade of brown, much like the front doors. A single chandelier dangled from the ceiling, lighting the room in a soft, light orange hue. The natural light came from a large window on the side of the building facing the highway. Of the dozen or so tables in the lounge, only two were occupied. One couple was chatting and smiling near the window, while across the room an older looking monster sat alone. He was reading a newspaper quietly, and sipping on his coffee.

Taking their seats, Kris and Susie awaited their meals.

“Well this place is nice.” Susie commented.

Kris made a short, halfhearted humming noise and shrugged.

“What? First impressions got you down?”

“Not sure how they couldn't. I thought we drove into a ghost town at first.”

A waitress stepped by and delivered their respective orders, getting thanks from the pair as she departed to the back room.

“At least the service is quick.” Kris grumbled, shortly before taking a sip of his coffee from the rather generic white mug it was held in. Susie looked to her plate and saw a large chunk of white chalk, sitting unceremoniously, as if it didn't belong there. It did to her, though. Did it ever. Before she partook in her meal, however, she grasped the mug of coffee in front of her and slowly drank it. Kris let out a subtle, disgusted noise.

“Bad coffee?” Susie questioned.

“Bitter.”

“Ah, suck it up. A bit of bitterness could do you good. I don't know how you can drink that sweet shit anyways.”

“Yeah, well, you eat chalk, so I'm not sure I trust your opinion on the intricacies of fine dining.”

“Chalk's good, dude. You wouldn't understand.”

Susie smirks as she grabs a hold of one side of the chalk column, biting down on the other side. This produces an incredibly loud crack that echoes off the walls of the room a couple times. The other guests jumped slightly, but Kris moved not an inch.

“I don't think I want to.”

A tall, slender human in a grey suit walked through the doorway to the lounge. He was young, maybe in his mid twenties, and had a slender, recently shaved face. His hair was short, but rather messy and greasy. On top of this, he looked to be rather distressed. The sunken bags under his eyes mixed with his eyes being bloodshot themselves likened his appearance to someone who hadn't slept in days. His red tinted eyes darted around the room until he caught sight of Susie and Kris.

“You, uhh...?”

They both nodded. The man quickly acquired a chair from a nearby vacant table, placing it between Susie and Kris. He sat, and took a deep breath.

“I'm Mayor Taylor, as I'm sure you both have figured out. I figured it would be best to meet you fellas in person, so uhm, here I am. Apologies upfront for my mannerisms, none of us have had very good sleep for the past couple of days.”

Susie produced a small notebook from her pocket as well as a pen. Kris sat more towards the mayor's direction and took a small breath.

“Well, from the sounds of it, you've called the right people. How long has this been going on?”

“Three nights. If it happens tonight, that'd be the fourth.”

“Do you have any theories or insights as to the origin of these screams?”

“Honestly, it's like it's happening everywhere at once. Every street hears it, and the ground shakes every time it happens. Could be coming from the sky, or underground, or something... no one's ever out that late at night to pin it down for sure.”

“From our report, we've gathered that no one has come close to determining what could be making these noises, is that correct?”

“Yep, we've asked around and no one seems to know. Even people who've been here for decades are left scratching their heads.”

“Any incidents? Missing or deceased?”

“No, though the residents are getting very anxious... Including me, if I'm being honest.”

Susie hastily scribbles important information while attempting to listen for key details.

“Any history of paranormal happenings in this town?”

“Nothing more than folktales and such, but that's just stuff to keep kids from misbehaving.”

“Hm. One last question, is the time of night that the screams occur consistent?”

“Around midnight to one o'clock is when we hear it.”

“Well, that'll about do it. I trust our bosses and you have come to an agreement on pay?”

“Oh, yes, of course. And, by all means help yourself to the commodities here in our inn. It isn't much, but we could offer you one of the suites on the second floor.”

“We appreciate the gesture, but all of our tools are out in the van, so it'd be easier for us to do our jobs if we stayed out there.”

“As you wish. Is there anything you'd like for us to do?”

“Announce a curfew, maybe advise people to be in by about nine tonight.”

Kris looked to the south, and to the storm that had just reached their position. It started with a few droplets at first, but before long there wasn't much to hear besides the deafening sound of raindrops against glass, matched by the howling of wind rushing through the cracks in the doors. Just another variable that just so happened to make their job easier. If anyone were to be outside by ten that night in a storm like that, it'd be some sort of cursed miracle.

“You're gonna wait out in a van in... this weather?” He scoffed in slight disbelief.

“It's really no big deal. We've been through worse and came out fine.”

“I suppose that must be true, considering what it is you do. Very well, then. I don't suppose I'll see you much until morning?”

“Not if we can help it. We try to keep things as subtle as possible.”

“Well, by all means, make yourselves at home. If you can, I guess. I wish you two well.”

“Thanks.”

With that, the pair excused themselves from their seats and headed back outside with haste, as to not get too wet in the storm. Thunder shook the ground as flashes of light darted across the sky, lighting the area up and disappearing just as fast as it had appeared. The storm had worsened far quicker than expected, drenching Susie and Kris in the short time it took for them to get back to the van. The next hours of relative daylight were spent surveying the small town, making note of any landmarks should they get lost, and pointing out possible hiding spots for whatever it was that was making the noises. Hours later, the sun had fallen past the horizon, and the storm still raged on outside their van which was now parked in the middle of town, outside a dilapidated playground in a suburban neighbourhood. Susie and Kris conceded that it wouldn't go away any time soon. Soon enough, it was eleven at night. The curfew had been announced, and the time had come for preparations.

“Well.” Susie started. “We should probably get ready, then.”

“Yep.”

“What do you recommend?”

“Well, considering we have no idea what this thing is capable of, nor do we know the extent of its malicious intent, I suggest we take a quote from the manual.”

“Let me guess. 'Be prepared for anything, from all directions.'?” She paraphrased.

Kris nodded.

“So, anything that would make the average beast bleed?”

Another nod.

“Let's get to work, then.”

Both doors to the van opened in sync as they stepped out of their vehicle, and headed to the back of the van. The rain beat upon their skin and scales. Then, Kris reached into his pocket, pulling out a key ring which contained three keys and a key card. He then slipped a key into the padlock that hung off of the back of the van's rear doors. Then, using a separate key, he disengaged the lock built into the door itself. The van opened without a sound, and inside laid two unassuming cots on either side of the van walls. The vehicle was quite large, so both Kris and Susie could stand inside comfortably. They climbed in and flicked on a light attached to the ceiling. Light flooded the room and brightened up the thick darkness of the outside storm. Simultaneously, Kris and Susie raised the cots up where they sat vertically, parallel to the length of the wall.

This is where the fun began.

On the underside of the cots were multiple weapons of a variety of sizes and uses. Silver stakes, steel swords, cleavers, pistols, shotguns, and more were displayed upon the bed's underside. Beneath where the mattress would usually be were ammunition and clothing storage, mostly made up of various types of light armor. Their organization attempted to keep manoeuvrability at the top of their worker's priorities, as most creatures tended to be incredibly agile and ferocious. Clothes shuffled around on their bodies as they equipped their armored leather vests, placing them beneath their overcoats. Over that went dark hooded raincoats. Next, they equipped holstered belts and slipped a pistol in each of theirs. Conventional pistols seemed to do little to the things they faced, and were to only be used as distractions, if anything. Any firearms of incredible power were given to hunters with far more experience, and usually outranked Kris and Susie. Shotguns were a middle ground, however. Silver knives came next, along with a serrated cleaver with a long, rectangular blade for Susie. Kris, on the other hand, grabbed and equipped a shotgun with its holster, slinging the firearm on his back. Most of the weapons they were equipped with were made with some special mixture of silver and steel, one that made their bullets and weapons particularly expensive to make.

This just meant that any attack that was meant to do damage had to count. No exceptions.

Last, they equipped night vision goggles that were stored in a box underneath the cots. These were one of the only conventionally made tools that were at their disposal. They were made of blackened metal besides the singular circular lens on the outside. With all their tools equipped and ready, Susie and her partner sat on opposite cots, preemptively closing and locking the doors. As the clock struck midnight, they sat anxiously, waiting to hear the sounds of their prey.

“What if we don't hear it?” Susie questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, with the storm outside. What if it's too lou-”

And just like that, Susie's suspicions were proved wrong as a horrifyingly resonant scream invaded both their minds. It felt as if the earth itself was shaking as a low, growling howl of a scream echoed even through the ever present sound of the storm. The scream itself was incredibly guttural and throaty, yet still subtly human sounding in nature. Susie stared at Kris with fear in his eyes. This fear, though perhaps seen as a sign of weakness by some, would be the only thing that kept both of them alive, and what made them so strong in the first place. Rising to action in the face of seemingly insurmountable fear was a strength Susie and Kris knew well by this point. With this thought going through both of their minds, Kris hardened his look with one of determination. Susie took a deep breath, and eventually returned this look, until both of them equipped their night vision goggles and stepped outside, locking the van behind them.

The hunt had finally begun.

Another scream rang clearly through the oppressive sound of rain against their coats, and it was just as the mayor had said. The ground shook, and the scream seemed to originate from everywhere at once. Though the goggles had helped their vision greatly, and even had a filter that attempted to show the true colours of what they were seeing, they couldn't spot the creature.

“He was right, it sounds like it's coming from everywhere!” Kris yelled through the commotion.

“Well there's no towers or anything around here, so what could reflect sound to everywhere in town?”

The pair both examined their surroundings once more until their gaze both settled on a manhole cover.

“Damn it.” Susie sighed under her breath. She knew this was the only clear point to proceed, but her hatred of underground areas was as prevalent as ever. Susie grunted as she lifted the manhole cover from its place, rolling it to the side as it clattered onto the road. Peering deep into the dark shaft below, Susie sighed once more.

“You should go first, I'll close the shaft behind you.”

“Right.”

Kris slowly descended the rusty ladder leading down into the sewer tunnels. Susie followed closely behind, and lifted the manhole cover on top of the exit. The clanks of their boots against the ladder echoed loudly as they went further and further down into the depths of the sewers, eventually reaching the bottom. The tunnel was cylindrical, with wide walkways on both sides for them to step on. What railings were left were rusted and in disrepair, much like everything else in the part of town they were in. The bottom half of the tunnel was mostly brown and black muck, both of them comfortable in their ignorance as to the contents of the liquid. The cement was stained with faded browns and greens, quite obviously old and in need of serious maintenance.

With the help of the goggles, they were able to determine quite fast that the tunnel to their left led to a dead end. That meant there was only one direction to go, which led to a ninety degree angle turn to the left up ahead, which they would soon take. Kris took the lead as he unholstered his pistol, aiming it in front of them as they walked. Susie equipped her cleaver, examining her surroundings intently, awaiting any sort of indication that they were in danger. Instead, a much quieter scream echoed from deep within the tunnels. Attempting to keep a low profile, the two stuck close together and stepped as softly as they could toward an upcoming four way intersection. Once the scream's echoes had ceased, another disturbing noise began to emanate from the middle of the four way.

The grinding of bones and meat between teeth.

Their bodies tensed up in unison as they both kept their slow pace towards the intersection, preparing for anything they could. They slowed their steps as they maneuvered to the edge of the walkway, closest to the middle of the junction. The only thing they were able to make out was a beige cloth draped over a vaguely humanoid body. Towards the head was a dark blue stain that tapered off on the backside of the drapes. From what they could make out from the hands that occasionally peeked out from behind the cloth, the skin of this creature was a darkened blue colour, slick with some sort of slimy liquid that they were unable to make out from that distance. The fingers looked mainly humanoid, save for large, almost crow claw-like tips of the fingers. The creature was hunched over, digging at the dark red carcass of what they both assumed to be a long dead animal. If said animal was recognizable at some point, it no longer was. What remained was a mangled mess of bone and rotted flesh.

The creature hurriedly stuffed the remains towards its mouth as the loud chewing continued. Kris tensed up once again, looking back at Susie. She nodded, and Kris nodded back. She watched as he slowly raised his finger up to the safety of the pistol, flicking it off as quietly as he could muster. The creature, thankfully, did not notice. Susie watched as his chest rose and fell, taking a silent but deep breath as his finger pulled against the trigger. A flash of light followed by a loud bang resonated throughout the tunnels along with a faint sound of a bullet hitting flesh. The creature's cloth wavered a bit as a quite visible hole was now in the backside of its head.

However, both of them could still see the bullet. It was merely peeking halfway out of the flesh of the beast, who didn't move a muscle since the shot was fired.

The two slowly backpedalled as Susie equipped a pistol in her left hand, while taking off its safety. The creature took its time slowly standing up for a few seconds, making abhorrent gurgling noises as it stood up on two legs. Even from the lower part of the tunnel, this put it at about twice the size of either of them. As it turned, more of its body began to come into their vision. Its skin was a dark shade of blue, said skin pulled taut around the beast's bones, making it look very malnourished, save for a bloated, almost translucent belly that hung just over a brown loincloth. Its arms were abnormal in length, reaching down to its crow-like talons which replaced its feet. The neck of the creature was about twice the length of a normal human's, and the esophagus was clearly visible from the front.

The face was an anomaly itself. It was made up of a long vertical crack that ran from its hairless scalp to its chin. From it were three long tendrils that acted as tongues. The bottom of the crack leaked a diluted blood-like substance that pooled at the place it stood. The creature inhaled sharply through the crack in its face, as the tongues retreated into its head, leaving its face a featureless smooth blue surface. This smoothness was soon broken by another crack forming horizontally across its head, and said crack parted to reveal several rows of long, semi-transparent white teeth. It began to inhale very sharply, and it was at this point that Kris knew what it was doing.

“Cover your ears!” Kris screamed to Susie. Though she didn't have ears, she knew exactly what he meant, and covered the sides of her head with her hands. Kris did the same, and just in time before the creature let out an earth-shaking scream. The volume of the scream was enough to cause Kris' ears to ring, even through his hands. It quickly became unbearable for him as he fell to his knees. Susie was far less affected by this, and as a result was able to gather the strength to fire a couple times at its head. This caused the screaming to stop, but the creature didn't seem very damaged by it, as the bullets simply stuck in its skin, dropping back out onto the ground after a few seconds. The skin didn't even appear to be punctured. Kris, though a bit shaken, attempted to get back up.

“Try to get behind it, I'll try to keep it from screaming again!”

“Got it!”

This plan was quickly foiled as the creature swiftly hopped onto the walkway, crouching on all fours as it crawled toward them. Its crow claws clacked across the floor frantically as it attempted to swipe at either of them. They stumbled backward and began to fire multiple rounds into the front of the beast, each eliciting the same result. Bullets fell to the ground from its skin, the creature's movements unwavering, even when aimed at its bloated and thin looking belly. After they both climbed to their feet, Kris cursed through his teeth in frustration and reached over his shoulder, unholstering the shotgun. With one pull of the trigger, an array of pellets shot into the face of the monstrosity, sending its stunned body reeling backward, falling to the ground and growling in pain. Kris could see the pellets lodged in its body, but the force of the impact must have stunned it somewhat. It was now time to take full advantage of the situation.

“Susie, get on its back!”

Without hesitation, Susie ran to the prone creature and mounted its backside, quickly raising her cleaver in the air and striking its back. From it, a veritable explosion of red flesh and blood coated her front side in crimson. The beast's face opened wide, and screeched, and ejecting her off of its back by jumping suddenly. Susie hit the roof of the tunnel, and a splash reverberated through it as she landed face up in the sewage below. Kris, concerned almost entirely for Susie's safety, rushed the creature and placed the barrel of the gun to the now gaping hole in its face, firing it once more. With a flash, the creature recoiled backwards and was stunned once again. The face area was now leaking copious amounts of blood. Kris was far from finished, though, as now he took Susie's place on the back of the beast, digging the shotgun into its stab wound. Another flash, another explosion of blood across the area. This caused the creature's movements to cease completely.

Victory seemed to be theirs.

Kris immediately dropped off the ledge of the sewer tunnel and raced to Susie. The logical part of him knew that, with how tough her body naturally was, she'd have sustained minor injuries at best. However, the sympathetic part had briefly taken over.

“Hey, you alright?” He spoke in a hushed tone. Susie groaned through her teeth and sighed.

“Yeah, just uh... Gimme a second.”

“You sure?”

“No. Please help me out of this sewage.”

Kris lightly chuckled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up from the sewage as best he could. Though he had been exercising quite frequently, it didn't help much when trying to heft a complete beast of a woman like Susie.

“The hell was that thing?”

“Don't ask me, I-”

Their conversation was cut short by Susie noticing the creature suddenly leap up from its prone position, immediately scurrying away towards where they came from.

“Shit!” Susie exclaimed.

Susie sprinted after the beast, trying her best not to slip in the sewage beneath her. At some point during her getting flung off the beast, she'd lost her night vision goggles, so traversing the area was even more difficult. Kris kept up a good pace, but ultimately fell behind her just a little bit. Once they had reached the entrance they came from, they saw the creature leap from a standing position into the ladder's shaft. With a loud thud, they both heard the manhole cover blast off the entrance and collide with the ground above.

Susie and Kris quickly exited the tunnels, climbing the ladder as fast as they could before emerging on the surface, Susie reaching the top before Kris. Susie watched through brief flashes of lightning as the creature crawled on all fours at an incredible pace, and her mind overflowed with terrible possibilities. Most of them relating to possible civilian casualties. With these thoughts flowing through her head, she sprinted off towards it, passing by many blocks before eventually reaching the highway near the inn. Drivers of the vehicles that passed honked their horns and abruptly slammed on their breaks as the creature leaped past the highway and over the barbed wire fence into the wheat fields. Susie followed close by, putting her hands out in both directions in an attempt to stop traffic. This probably didn't help the low profile they were attempting to keep, but anything would be better than having that thing loose. With a grunt, she jumped the barbed wire fence, and was now waist deep in wheat. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness somewhat at this point, just enough to make out the creature standing bipedal in the wheat, facing away from her.

It didn't seem to be moving much at all, but simply swaying in the fierce winds of the storm. The rain fell on its heavily bleeding back, turning the cloth from a light brown to a far more red colour. Susie aimed her pistol on its head. Something unexpected happened however, something that made her drop her guard momentarily. It spoke. In a deep, half gurgled and choking voice, it spoke.

“The winds... Their call... A cold, ocean storm, yet so far from where it should be.”

Its body began to shake, twitching slightly as its cloth fell from its body, revealing dozens of burst, red orbs. They were relatively small, with white, unidentifiable specimens squirming around inside the ones left intact.

“Why have I been chosen to accompany you?” It angrily questioned the sky above.

Lightning lit up the sky multiple times in a row as the creature turned to face Susie. Its face, though featureless, seemed to fill Susie with a feeling of sadness. The sky flashed one more time, but it took Susie a second to realize that lightning wasn't its source. The creature's belly, now tattered and deflated, leaked clear water profusely as it fell to its knees, desperately trying to keep the water inside it. Gurgling once more in a mixture of pain and surprise as its body went limp, for what would be the final time. From the wheat next to her arose Kris, holding a smoking shotgun.

“Holy shit, dude.” Susie sighed, both bewildered and out of breath.

“Don't leave me behind next time.”

Susie simply stared at him, unable to move. She wasn't sure if it was the experience she just had or the adrenaline wearing off, though.

“I'll get the body bag.” Kris deadpanned, walking back in the direction of the van.

Hours pass, and the bloodied corpse of the creature laid dormant in the back of Kris and Susie's van. Since then, they showered and parked the van near the inn once more, facing out towards the highway as the sun slowly peeked over the horizon. The storm had vanished, and the winds had calmed. The wheat was peaceful, and the sky was clear. Yet, despite all that had happened, Susie hadn't slept. Kris had headed off to sleep early in the back of the van, but Susie didn't even try as hard as that. She simply sat in the passenger seat and watched as the sun rose. At about six thirty, movement came from the back of the van, and Kris eventually made his way to the driver's seat of the vehicle, yawning and sighing as he did.

“Hey.” Kris drawled out, half through another yawn.

“Hey.”

“Didn't sleep again?”

“No.”

“... Why not?”

“Something was different, last night. It... It talked.”

“Yeah, so?”

“No, like, it spoke. It was sentient, conscious, it knew our language. I've seen mimicry before, we both have, and that wasn't mimicry. It knew what it was saying.”

“And what was it saying, exactly?”

“You heard it, didn't you?”

“Yeah. It was certainly talking.”

Kris nonchalantly popped a chocolate bar out of it's wrapper before continuing.

“Didn't say much, though.”

She wasn't sure how to respond.

So, she didn't.

“I'll be back. Gonna tell the mayor the good news, and we'll head out.”

And just like that, she was left alone again. As his soft steps left her range of hearing, she pondered what he meant by him not saying anything. Did that mean there was no point? How was he to know, or even determine that? There was a dead body that was once capable of speech in the back of their van. This was different from the usual beasts and abnormalities they faced. Something within the world had changed recently, something subtle, but there nonetheless. Surely he felt it too, right? He had to have been hiding behind his mask of indifference. She knew him better than that.

Kris entered the van once more.

“Well, he was pretty thankful. At least this town will rest easy now.”

She wasn't sure if she could say the same.

“... Susie?”

“Yeah?”

“You should get some sleep.”

“Well I'm not sleeping back there.”

“I know, but after we drop that thing in the back off at HQ, we'll book a hotel room for the day and have a nap, alright?”

“Yeah. Alright.”

“And, Susie?”

“Yeah?”

Susie felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked over and saw him smile.

“Don't bring the dreariness out with you, yeah?”

That smart ass smile.

“Shut up, dude.”

They both tiredly laughed as the van started, and if Susie's mind hadn't been flooded with thoughts, she might have slept on the way back to the city. Though, maybe she was just worrying too much.

Maybe everything was going to be okay.


	2. Skin Crawler

“Though beasts rarely work together, the coincidental placement of two in the same location could cause catastrophe. In addition, always keep in mind the possibility of doppelgangers. If you can find and eliminate the source, the rest will follow.”

~Hunter's Manual

An elderly goat monster with brown fur and short horns stood at the interior-side of the front door of his house. He peered out the small rectangular window in the door and saw a middle aged, similarly colored goat monster. The monster in the driveway waved at him limply, but the one inside trembled and convulsively inhaled and exhaled. He swiftly closed the blinds to the window with tears in his eyes, making doubly sure that the door was locked.

Twelve hours later, Kris and Susie sat on a brown couch. They were now in the living room of the same elderly monster's house. The room had a pervasive scent of aged furniture, and felt like it hadn't been aired out in quite a while. The room lacked a television of any kind, with only a rocking chair, a couch, and a couple dressers taking up the space in the room. On the top of these dressers sat multiple statues and pottery. Antiques lined the shelves on the walls, said walls having a brown floral wallpaper on their surface that matched the couch. The only sound that seemed to exist in the room was the soft ticking of a clock on the wall.

The elderly goat sat across from Susie and Kris, looking down at the floor with a grave expression on his face. His body was quite frail in appearance, and as such, he seemed to shake quite a bit. His clothes consisted of grey pants and an older looking brown shirt. Before speaking, he took a deep breath, and exhaled.

“Do I really have to say it again?” He said in a pleading tone. “I already said everything to the folks on the phone.”

Kris replied in a stern, but not entirely unsympathetic tone.

“Just a formality, Edison. Both for assurance of the correct information, and in the case that any unspoken or forgotten details rise to the surface.”

Edison sighed and began to speak, Susie looking to her notepad ready to write.

“Alright. Uhm, I've lived here alone for a couple years since my wife's passing, and I lost my son... a week ago, now. Car crash. They found a lot of blood in his car. Enough that if he had survived the initial impact, he would've bled out quite quickly afterward.”

Edison sniffed sharply as he tried to steady his nerves.

“Th-There was barely anything left to cremate.”

“Take your time.” Kris encouraged.

“I'm sorry, you two. Anyways, uhm... a couple days ago, I started to see him. Outside in my driveway, just standing there. Smiling. At first I thought I was going crazy, or that maybe I imagined the whole thing. He came back again the next night, though. Ten at night. I know he saw me, because he was smiling and waving at me... but he didn't walk any closer. He just stood there. Watching.”

Edison began to shake a bit more. Not out of grief or sorrow, but out of pure disdain.

“I don't know what that... thing is, but it is not my son.”

“Don't worry, sir.” Kris replied. “You won't have to worry about it after tonight.”

The door closed shut behind Susie as they walked out of the house shortly after. The sun was just beginning to set behind the green trees that surrounded them. It was quite a remote house, about a fifty mile drive from any sort of civilization that entered a large forest. As far as Susie and Kris knew, the old man was the only resident of this forest besides normal common wildlife. As well as, of course, the creature they were attempting to catch. The doors to each side of the van closed in unison as Kris sat in the driver's side, Susie sitting in the passenger seat. The van itself was situated between the house and the exit to the property that led through the forest via the driveway, slightly to the side of the driveway itself on the grass next to the gravel. Both Susie and Kris could see the house in their respective rear view mirrors.

“Ten at night, huh.” Susie sighed.

“That's better than the last one.” Kris replied.

“Yeah, way less of a wait time. Only three hours to go, and we just got here.”

“As long as it actually shows up.”

A few seconds pass before Susie's cell phone rings. She quickly retrieves it from her pocket and accepts the call.

“Berdly?”

“Yeah, you guys at the place?”

“Yep. Just waiting for it now.”

“You read the file, right?”

“We both did, sounds like a skin walker or something, but we'll prepare for anything, as always.”

“Skin walkers seem unlikely, usually they tend to take the bodies for consumption. Edison's son was confirmed to be cremated.”

“That... seems like a big detail to just leave out.”

“Found out after the file was made, sorry. That's why I called, actually. Not much I can do up here but collect info and give it out, you know.”

“Don't worry about it. Whatever it is, it's probably not looking for a fight, so this should be an easy one.”

“Heh, yeah, I hope so. You guys stay safe, alright?”

“Always do.”

The call shortly disconnected.

“Well. Three hours to just sit and do nothing, huh.” Susie drawled.

“I don't mind it.”

“You're basically dead inside, though.”

“Yeah, well, I guess that has its perks. Just think of it as time off of work or something; we barely get weekends anymore.”

“I don't think I'd like weekends now.”

“Hm? Why's that?”

“I'd just feel... lazy. I mean, we're doing this to help people, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So time spent not doing that is time where someone needs our help, but won't get it.”

“You're putting that responsibility on yourself?”

“You're not?”

“There's lots of people we can't save, but that's not really our fault, Susie. Doesn't make you lazy either.”

Susie uncomfortably shuffled in the passenger seat.

“Guess not. It'd still feel weird, though.”

“If you say so.”

The two sat in silence for a while, looking around the clearing that surrounded them, and the innumerable birch trees that further surrounded that. The light slowly faded through the trees as the sun dipped below the treeline, soon to be replaced by a full moon from the other direction. Green grass swayed gently in the breeze as the time trickled closer and closer to nine. Once it had, Susie and Kris had done the usual ordeal of gearing up in their respective armor and preparing their weapons. However, they sat in the front seats this time. Unlike the last case, catching whatever had been terrorizing this monster required both sight and sound. Their night vision goggles sat upon their foreheads, unused until the time was right. Their usual weapons were equipped, but without adequate uses for them, the usually spacious front seats felt slightly more claustrophobic.

Kris sighed and rolled down his window.

“What time's it now?”

“Nine fifty.”

“You ready?”

“I think so.”

“You don't sound so sure.”

“Yeah, not after last time.”

“... Still freaked out by that, huh.”

“I dunno, Kris. It just felt off. Some creature shows up out of nowhere and just... screams in a sewer. Does nothing to actually harm the town, but makes enough of a commotion for people to call the AIB. And this town happens to be quite close to the headquarters, on a day that all the other pairs were busy on other cases. On top of that, it was the first beast we've seen with something that seemed like competent speech.”

There was a long silence as Susie stared at Kris, his expression unchanged.

“Yeah, that's... a bit weird. I really don't think we should worry about it yet, though.”

“Yet? When should we worry about it then?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe if it happens again, and if we get to actually talk with whatever it is. Remember, it only spoke to you. We don't know if it had the capability to intelligently reply to anything.”

“I guess.”

“Don't worry about it, Susie. It's really just unnecessary stress.”

“Yeah, and there's not a damn thing we need less than that.”

“What we do need, though, is to keep an eye on this driveway.”

This sentence perfectly synced with the time finally hitting that dreaded ten o'clock mark.

Sitting in silence, they watched the driveway that led out of the property and into the woods that surrounded them. The sunlight from before had vanished, leaving only the light of the full moon above to illuminate their way. The clearing allowed for ample visibility, but the same could not be said for the forest, the perimeter being bathed in a swirling darkness and surrounding the property. The dread of the situation began to set in as Kris and Susie dropped their goggles to their eyes. The darkness peeled away to reveal the rest of the forest that wasn't blocked by the trees themselves. Though this revealed nothing of any significance, knowing their surroundings beforehand was essential for them.

For minutes uncounted by the pair sitting idly, they watched the driveway, waiting for any sign of the goat that was described to them. Trees waved gently in the wind, creating movement all around that would make noticing more subtle movements far more difficult. Despite their vigilance, Susie's exhaustion had begun to take its toll as well. Her eyelids felt more and more weighed down with every passing minute. The soft breeze and the gentle nature of her surroundings had a strangely hypnotic effect on her, and before long she felt herself drifting further and further into the depths of unconsciousness. Any thought or demand of staying awake were drowned out by an overwhelming feeling of sudden drowsiness. Then, in an instant, she jolted from her haze, jumping a bit in her seat.

Susie's eyes darted around the driveway, yet no signs of anything strange were present. She had hoped she hadn't been asleep for too long, as a jeopardized mission due to her little blackout would likely haunt her for some time. Kris hadn't moved, though, and probably suspected that she had fallen asleep. Susie sighed and began to fall into a less high strung state.

“Wow... I almost fell asleep just now. It's been a while since I've done that.”

“I really don't think we should worry about it.”

“Maybe not, I really need sleep.”

“Don't worry about it, Susie.”

Susie scoffed.

“Don't tell me what to worry and not worry about.”

No response, but there wasn't one needed.

“What time is it now?”

“Nine fifty.”

“What?”

“Nine fifty.”

“No, like, really. What time is i-”

And just like that, her body tensed up once more. Her heart began to beat as if it was attempting to break free from her ribs. A horrid sensation crawled up her body as she slowly turned her gaze to the driver's seat. Kris sat there with his goggles placed upon his forehead once more. This allowed her to see his face clearly.

It was missing its eyes. In its place were pits of darkness that pierced not only her eyes, but deep into the very essence of her soul. A sinister and horrifying realization came to her that the real Kris had disappeared, and left this haunting ghost as a reminder of her ignorance. Susie quickly pulled her pistol from its holster and fired it at its head, the apparition quickly evaporating into a sort of black smoke that seeped out of the window.

Susie stumbled out of the van in a panic, scanning the area around her for any sort of trail, and finding none of the sort. Susie began to yell her partner's name into the sky her panic reaching entirely new highs she hadn't felt in an incredibly long time. When Kris hadn't responded, Susie's heart rate began rising, and the sound of her own hysteric breathing was the only thing she could hear. Even the gentle breeze had left, turning her panic into a horrible dread that bore its way into her stomach, tying and knotting it until the suffocating fear became as palpable as a clogged throat.

... Kris woke up in a panic, though all he was able to do was shake weakly and blink. Nearly his entire body had been overtaken with an immense feeling of terror, the severity of such he had not felt in his life until that point. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he felt a constant state of anxiousness and nausea. Aside from his eyes and eyelids, he wasn't able to move any part of his body with his own free will, even though he had been standing. In front of him, at first, was simply darkness. Shapes shortly emerged from this darkness as his eyes adjusted to it, predictably finding himself deep in the forest, in a location he didn't recognize. The last thing he had remembered was watching the driveway. Nothing out of the ordinary had entered his vision, nor had he heard anything suspicious. It only took a single moment for his vision to falter, for his hearing to deafen, and for his consciousness to shut down completely.

The further into forest his vision allowed him to see, the more a sense of dread began to well up in his stomach. A small wood cabin sat a dozen or so meters from where he was currently standing. From what he could see the place looked utterly in shambles, abandoned by whatever had owned it before long ago. A door barely hung on by its hinges swayed in a soft wind, a sharp metallic squeal accompanying each movement. In front of the door was a hastily and shoddily built set of stairs that led up to the entrance. The entire structure was slightly tilted to the side and sinking into the forest floor, as if the years of its abandonment sparked an urge in it to return to the soil from where it came. At first, Kris could only hear the rustling of the trees as the wind slithered through their branches. As time went on, however, he noticed both a new sound and a new sight. Neither of which made his paralyzing fear recede in the slightest. The darkness made some details scant, but he made out what he could.

A tall, womanly, and slender figure exited the cabin. Its skin, if it could even be called that anymore, was a darkened, charcoal shade of grey that looked as if it had been badly burned and left in the sun for days. Despite its emaciated stature, it moved somewhat elegantly, standing on the tips of its feet and swaying to and fro with every soft step it took. It moved as if it were underwater, its feet barely clinging to the bottom of the water's body. Even further cementing this image in Kris' mind was the creature's hair. Pitch black strands that could easily reach the middle of this thing's back extended upwards towards the sky and around its face, similarly mimicking a submerged behavior as they floated around its face. The face itself was missing its eyes and teeth, and the skin bore a similar resemblance to the rest of its body.

The mouth, perhaps, was the most disturbing part of the entire ordeal. It was stuck in a gaping, constantly screaming expression that constantly emitted a horrid, yet quiet wail. Yet, this wail was far more akin to the scraping and squealing of metal against metal than anything resembling a sound a normal creature could make. The emptiness in its eye sockets drilled holes into Kris, the terror still keeping him rooted in place as it stepped gently towards him. The terror left him hopeless to the creature, which took its long, malnourished arm and placed its hand upon Kris' head, gripping hair roughly. Without giving him a glance, it walked past where he was frozen in place, and without any input from his brain, Kris began to walk along with the creature, still being gripped tightly by the scalp. His body was entirely working against him under the influence of the being, and without a single idea of how to snap himself out of it, he was left feeling hopeless.

He hadn't felt this level of helplessness since seven years ago.

Thoughts of horrible possibilities raced through his mind. This being was an entirely new one to him, one he had no experience or info on, and one he had never even heard of. Beasts with unique traits dotted the landscape and only grew in number the more Susie and him had traveled, but never once had he seen this level of potential control over another sentient being before. His brain hastily attempted to rationalize this moment. He knew that Susie couldn't be far, and that this thing couldnt've moved him at the pace it was currently controlling him at. Not to mention that horrid noise it seemed to make constantly ruining any sense of surprise, as quiet as it was. So there had to be another way it transported him. This info wasn't of any use now, but at the very least, he was hoping to understand what he had done wrong. After a grueling, unspeakable amount of minutes, a small, murky pond began to come into Kris' vision. As it came more and more into view, his heart sank further and further into his stomach.

Dozens of bodies, now unrecognizable from their time in the water, floated upon the surface of the pond, which was only a couple dozen meters in diameter. Some were young, some elderly, some monsters, and few humans, all hardly discernible in the darkness that consumed him and the surrounding area. Kris' breathing began to quicken as the creature took him to the water's edge. He now knew of his fate if a miracle wasn't to occur soon. He wondered, would it really end like this? Was this line of work always destined to end in tragedy? He hadn't much time to ponder on it before he felt a force bring him to his knees, his kneecaps and pants getting soaked in the water which reeked an abhorrent and unforgettable stench of death. He saw the bodies atop the water writhe silently and splash in the water as he felt the creature force his head under the water's surface.

Instantly, the feeling of water rushing into his sinuses, eyeballs, and mouth, made him almost instantly nauseated. Although his mind was screaming for him to fight back in any way, his body simply would not obey. The terror was simply too much. From what he could see, the water dropped off immediately into an abyss, the bottom of which the light was not able to reach. He felt his body twist under the creature's command, twisting upside down so that the front of his body now faced the surface of the water, shortly before his face shot towards the direction in the middle of the lake. Standing on the other side of the surface of the water, as if it were land, were all of the bodies he had just seen floating. Standing in their original spots. Watching him. Judging him.

Filled with hate.

And then, darkness was all that was left of his vision for a short while. As he regained consciousness, some feelings returned to him faster than others. First, the feeling of complete control returned to his body, albeit in a weakened state. Next, the sound of Susie grunting and wailing, accompanied with a sound of flesh being cut and chopped repeatedly and rhythmically. The smell of the damp forest air returned before at last, Kris opened his eyes. The perfectly circular moon shone dimly above him, through the trees far beyond his reach.

All at once, his mind returned to him as he shot up and looked toward the sound he'd heard. About a meter away, Susie stood over the now hardly recognizable body of the creature that had taken hold of him. It's black, rotted guts spewed from each side as Susie swung her cleaver down at it's face and chest. Over and over, without missing a single beat. Kris stumbled to his feet and tried to speak.

“S-Susie...”

Susie kept chopping at the corpse as if she hadn't heard a thing. Kris looked to his right and saw the pond, still murky and terrible smelling as ever. The bodies, he had noticed, were absent, as was the stench of death that accompanied them.

“Enough”, he thought. He looked to his left, to the back of Susie.

“Susie, I-”

He stumbled to speak, a trouble he hadn't dealt with in longer than he could remember. Susie simply continued to slash at the body. It was only once Kris had grabbed a hold of her shoulder and yelled that she was broken out of her daze.

“Susie! I'm safe!”

The chopping ceased.

With the sound of cleaved flesh absent, her sobs were far more discernible. Susie dropped her cleaver to the floor, and turned around to meet Kris with a tight and genuine embrace. The tears trailing down her cheeks carved trenches in the dark red blood that had almost completely covered her face, almost entirely from the spatters of the beast against her body alone. Her claws clasped around Kris' sides as Kris met her embrace with his own, not hoping to match the strength of hers, but at the very least hoping to match the sincerity. Susie cried into his shoulder for an amount of minutes neither of them could be bothered to count. The touch of another person was more than welcome to him after what he had just experienced, and he was sure Susie had felt the same way. After much time had passed, Susie had stopped her crying and retrieved her cleaver. She was still sniffling, but far more consolable than she once was. She looked down to the destroyed remains on the forest floor. Though he hadn't shed a tear, Kris was in a far better state as well.

“S... Sorry. Guess we sh-should get a body bag, huh.”

“... Don't worry about it. I'll just take a skin sample and that should be enough. We'll just say it burned up, or something. Let's just... Let's get back to the van.”

“Yeah. S-Sounds good.”

A short, wordless walk through the woods later, and soon enough they were back in their van. Susie in the passenger side, Kris in the driver's seat. They simply sat there, wordlessly. Neither were sure of what to say at this point. They both knew neither of them were going to be sleeping tonight, so that was out of the question. They both knew how they felt about what just happened, but neither felt comfortable talking about it just yet. With nothing left to do, Kris sighed a shaky breath and unlocked the glove box, reaching inside and producing a chocolate bar. The glove box closed quietly as he comfortably sat back in his seat.

“Kris?” Susie murmured.

“Yeah?”

“Should... Should we be doing this?”

“... What do you mean?”

“I mean, should we be here. Should we be here, right now, doing this. Doing what we just did.”

“I-”

Her voice began to crack as she interrupted him.

“I mean shit, Kris, I'm twenty three years old. I should be in college, or doing some stupid, boring desk job, and having an apartment or something. I love helping people and I know we're doing the right thing, but does that mean we don't get happiness? Is what we get for all we've done the satisfaction that we did the right thing? Don't we deserve normal lives, too?!”

The tears had started rolling down her face once more as Kris sat there in silence and contemplation.

“And now there's all this shit about beasts getting sentience, and beasts getting more dangerous, and more and more hunters going missing. When is that going to be us, Kris? When is that going to be our last case? Because tonight was almost yours, and honestly-”

Susie choked a bit on her last sentence.

“I-I don't think I could handle that.”

Kris took a few deep breaths.

“We're not going to be one of them. We are strong, and as long as we have each other, we will continue to be. It's not an easy life, but... No one asked for this to happen to any of us. We're just... Doing what we can. It might not be good for us right now, but it will be. One day. And maybe, once that day comes... maybe knowing we made the world a better place will be our own happiness. We just have to hold it out until that day comes. It will, though. I know it will. For now, we're gonna head back to our hotel room, because we both need a shower and something to eat. But I promise, we will be alright.”

Susie took her moment of silence before speaking again, through barely held back sniffles.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”, he replied, looking out his window to the calm trees around them before rolling up his window and starting the van. He slipped the chocolate bar he had on his lap into the center console and took one last deep breath.

“We'll be alright.”


	3. Demon, Part One

“One must keep the lines between monster, beast, and anomaly a well defined and impassable barrier. Not only may it save your life, but it may relieve you from any mental burdens you may carry as well.”

~Hunter's Manual

A pitch black town near the rushing waters of a lake sat silently in the dull moonlight, its glow only just illuminating its cold surfaces.

A woman's horrible scream tore through the sky.

Many miles to the east, Kris, out of his soaked clothing and in a fresh wardrobe, walked through a grey cement hallway with a plastic container in his hand. He passed a couple doors with the inscriptions “OIB” and “RIB” on each. At the end of this hallway sat one final door, simply inscribed with “HB” in black lettering on the wooden door's brown surface. With a creak, the door opened to a large, mostly empty lobby area. A single caged light bulb hung from the ceiling above a desk. The desk's top was almost completely obscured by a variety of papers and folders, all except for the part occupied by the computer monitor, which sat to the side of the desk's middle. Behind this almost mountain-like collection of documents was a stressed looking blue bird monster wearing large glasses and a plain white shirt.

“Hey, Berdly.”

“Ah, heya. Back from the case?”

“Yeah, dropping off the body.”

“Er- well why didn't you just drive in the back?”

In response, Kris lifted the plastic container he was holding and placed it on the desk, revealing its contents to be nothing more than a scrap of flesh.

“... Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Th-That's all that was left?”

“Not really, but you would've gotten the same results with anything else I picked up.”

“Is it supposed to be like this?”

“It... had a body at some point.”

“What happened to it?”

“Susie. I don't really feel like elaborating.”

“Yeesh. Alright, I'll find something to fill the paperwork with. What did it end up being?”

“Looked like a tall human lady with long black hair. Seems to be able to replace people with mimics, and teleport whatever they mimicked closer to them in a heavily sedated state. The mimics can do simple actions and very simple speech, but become less convincing as time passes. I was able to control my mind but my body was under its control, and it could possibly cause hallucinations. I think it was able to get me because I opened a window, but I wasn't able to recollect much before it happened. It moved... oddly. Slow, almost elegant on the tips of its feet, as if it was near weightless, or underwater. Its hair floated upwards as well, and waved upwards as if submerged in liquid. It was defeated from a single cleaver strike to the temple, though a fair amount of... effort was put into killing it thoroughly.”

Berdly wrote in a notebook for a few seconds before clicking his pen and placing it aside.

“Well, that's that, Kris. Anything else you need?”

“Yeah. I was wondering if we could schedule a break starting tomorrow, for five days.”

Berdly glanced at his computer monitor.

“Y'know it's gonna be tomorrow in, like... ten minutes, right?”

“I know, but this is sort of important. I hate doing this to you on such short notice, but-”

“Nah, nah, don't worry about it. We got some replacement teams sent in today, and they look pretty capable. I'm sure I could slip in a few days for you two. Besides, with the increased call volume settling down you should be fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Though, uh, I gotta ask. Where are you heading to?”

“Gonna spend some time in Black Falls. Not sure if we're staying the full five days there, but we might. I'll keep you updated.”

“Alrighty. Stay safe, and keep your badges on you.”

With that, Kris turned and walked through the door behind him and entered the hallway once more. Just before reaching the door on the other side, a tall, dark figure emerged from the crevice between the double doors ahead of Kris. The moment Kris recognized the figure, his blood froze.

A tall, slender man cloaked entirely in a full-body black suit with various layers of bullet proof armor stepped into the hallway. Not a single fleck of skin was visible, everything was covered in a dark fabric of some sort. The cold, unreadable stare that pierced through the small goggles on his face sent shivers through Kris. Any intentions in the stare Kris returned were lost in the darkness of the space behind the goggles, as if they were black holes of emotion or feeling. Various test tube-like vials hung from the oddity's waist and around his body. Each tube was filled with some sort of dark liquid. Across his chest was a bandoleer which held large golden bullets with dark red tips that clinked softly as he took heavy, steel-toed steps toward Kris, stopping just before him. Kris steeled his nerves as swiftly as he could.

“Good evening, Sir.” Kris barely managed to mutter.

He nodded, and stomped past. Once Glare had exited the hallway through the door Kris had entered from, Kris breathed a sigh of relief and stepped through the doors in front of him. Seeing the head of any division was a rare sight, but Glare had the unique trait of being one of the scariest living things on the planet. This, on top of being the head of the most violent division of their organization, the Hunting Bureau, made him an intimidating presence to behold.

Kris descended the steps in front of the nondescript building that housed their operations and made his way down the sidewalk to the van. Hopping in the driver's seat, he looked to his left and found Susie in a half awake state, leaning back in her seat. She wore a more civilian styled set of clothing, as opposed to the organization's standard attire. In a plain white shirt and blue jeans, he remarked in his head that it had been a while since he had seen her in such casual attire. Kris sighed once again and started the vehicle, whereupon it whirred to life.

“You look like you saw a ghost.” Susie muttered.

“Just Glare.”

“Oh, shit. He say anything to you?”

“Nope.”

“Ahh, I should've known... Shit. If Glare's in there, some seriously dangerous stuff is around.”

“At least we won't run into it, if they're smart and have the barricades up already.”

“Yeah... We're sleeping at the usual place tonight?”

“Yep, just outside of town.”

“Cool. Wake me up when we get there.”

Susie let her head rest against the window and took a deep breath before shutting her eyes. Kris pulled out of their parking spot and began their drive out of the city. The usual spot for their sleep was a cozy middle class inn straddling the city limits, and had sheltered them for innumerable nights. The late night drives were always calm, as Kris took a less travelled path to the inn through some industrial areas further from the city's centre.

As Kris drove, he took note of the night sky which was blotted out by light pollution and skyscrapers that etched black squares into the starscape. Twenty minutes passed until Kris pulled into the parking lot of the inn, not yet turning the van off. A neon sign reading “Leadliner”, written in cursive, lit up the gravel and interior of the van, in a dim reddish light.

Kris turned to his side and gently shook Susie's shoulder.

“Hey, we're here.”

Susie hardly even grumbled.

“Come on, we've got warm beds inside for us.”

A slurred “But I'm comfy” crawled from her lips.

“We have to get into some new clothes. Susie-”

And then, the gentle snoring started.

Kris retracted his hand from her shoulder and sighed in defeat. He sat for a second before getting out of the car, ran to the back of the van, and returned with a grey blanket. He set the blanket on the middle compartment and then pulled the van out of the red light cast by the inn's sign. Kris parked the van in the darkest spot in the parking lot, and turned the van's ignition off. Silence settled in afterwards. Pulling the blanket up to his shoulders and letting the backrest lean down, Kris settled into his makeshift bed and slept the night away.

Susie's eyes shot open to the sound of distant thunder, and what met them was a soft ray of white sunlight peeking through a hole in a wooden roof. Examining the strange, new environment that she had been placed in, she found she was perched on a pile of hay. Rusted metal tools of all sorts surrounded her, all of which were held inside a wooden shed about five meters across in each direction. Many of the boards that made up the shed's roof were missing.

Susie could hear the soft clash of waves against a cliff side, though the sound was far in the distance. Susie got up in confusion and realized she was no longer in her usual casual attire, instead, she wore a faded yellow tee-shirt, black jeans, and well worn brown shoes. Her hair felt scraggly and unkempt to the touch.

“Where am I?” She muttered under her breath. Most dreams her brain conjured involved her remembering her past, but this place felt completely unfamiliar to her. She realized she was in a dream very quickly after waking inside it, so why hadn't she woken up? Susie stepped to the wooden door in front of her and grasped the brown metal handle, first attempting to push, then to pull. Neither resulted in the door opening. For a few moments, she slammed her shoulder into the door, but that only yielded similar results. In one last attempt, she put an immense amount of power into a kick aimed at the part of the door closest to the handle. A wave of pain scrambled the nerves in her leg as she fell to the floor, the door unmoved. She laid on the floor for a few moments, pondering why she even attempted to interact with anything in the facade of her subconscious.

Getting to her feet once more, Susie examined her settings in better detail. The rusted tools seemed to be for a very specific purpose. Many pickaxes and shovels lined the walls, with empty boxes of explosives sitting in inches of dust in a corner. An aged, assumedly nonfunctional pneumatic rock drill rested on its side next to an axe. Mining tools. She grabbed a pickaxe off the wall and took a deep breath, positioning herself in front of the door. The aged wood of the axe shaft felt brittle in her hands, but she held onto hope that it would be enough to break her way out of the shed. Susie wound up a swing and let it loose onto the door. It finally gave, and in quite the dramatic fashion. The door simply shattered into wooden shrapnel that shot out onto the grass in front of it. Susie panted from putting a bit more effort into the swing than was needed.

Keeping the tool firmly gripped in her hands, Susie walked out of the shed and was immediately assaulted by heavy winds. Squinting as she looked to her right, what she would assume as south, she saw a winding road surrounded by cliffs that rose high above it. The same cliffs surrounded one side of the clearing she was in, while the other side of the clearing ended in a steep drop off a perilous cliff, where the raging white waters of the ocean splashed upon the rocks at the bottom.

To Susie's left, at the edge of the cliff, sat a tall white lighthouse with thick red stripes that ran vertically down to its base. The light didn't seem to be functional as far as she could tell, but her eyes were more focused on what the lighthouse sat in front of. A massive, dark grey thundercloud flashed sporadically in the distance, far above the ocean's surface. The sound of distant rain and thunder seemed to grow closer by the second as her surroundings darkened. She felt her body losing strength, her every muscle and tendon deteriorating until-

Susie's eyes fluttered open once more to the sight of trees rushing past her window. A yawn escaped her mouth as she stretched her arms as far above her head as they would reach until they hit the ceiling of the van.

“Finally decided to wake up, huh?” Kris prodded.

“Ugh, how long was I asleep for?”

“Well you fell asleep just after I started driving to the hotel, and it's about noon right now, so...”

“Twelve hours...? Damn.”

“Yep.”

“So why do I still feel like shit?”

“Because you slept in the car, instead of getting up like I told you to?”

“... Maybe.”

“Absolutely.” Kris replied with a smirk and an eye roll. “Eat a burger, that'll make you feel better.”

Susie looked to her left and found a brown paper bag sitting between the seats. Her eyes lit up instantaneously. She dug into the bag with zeal and pulled out a burger about the size of her fist, and nearly tore right through the wrapping before stopping herself.

“You, uh-”

“I had my two already. Dig in.”

Susie smiled happily and tore through the wrapping, to the priceless food underneath, taking a few big bites without hesitation. The lettuce and tomatoes crunched with each bite, and within a minute, the burger was gone. The stray sauce and mayonnaise that leaked onto the wrapper Susie had placed on her lap was quickly wrapped up and thrown back in the bag, while she retrieved another burger and repeated the process.

The leaves, the branches, and the light that flowed through both flickered and flew past the car as they began driving up a small incline in the road. Susie sat back in her seat and let the satisfaction flow through her.

“So, I'm gonna guess we got the day off?”

“We got five days off.”

“Bullshit, really?”

“Yep, we got really lucky this time. Helps that we've barely asked for breaks before. I was surprised that wasn't your first question last night, actually.”

“I was tired, and you looked like you didn't have any blood left in your body. It was kinda distracting, y'know?”

“I wasn't that scared.”

“... Yeah, you were. So, where are we heading, anyways?”

“That, I'm leaving a surprise. Shouldn't be too much longer, though, in fact-”

Just as those words left his mouth, a green sign on the side of the road caught her eye.

“BLACK FALLS

2KM”

“Black falls? Damn, dude. We haven't been here since we were kids. Remember that field trip?”

“You mean the only one our school could afford? Yeah. It's a bit more of a tourist trap now, but as far as I know it's still a nice place to visit.”

Mere seconds later, the treeline on Susie's side of the road stopped, and gave way to a gorgeous view of a small town situated next to a sinkhole, the town being on one side and the van being on the other, with a road that ran along the hole's edges. Susie looked down to the pitch black waters in the sinkhole, her eyes trailing up the similarly dark, multiple waterfalls that flowed from the town's rivers.

On the field trip many years before, Kris and Susie had learned that Black Falls was known in the past as a concentrated point of paranormal activity, due mostly in part to the water that turned black as soon as it entered the town's premises. More mundane paranormal activity, such as spirit sightings and moved objects, of course. Nothing akin to the beasts and anomalous objects more commonly known to the organization were as widely known at the time, nor presently. This was due to the best efforts of the organization to keep the more dangerous and mass hysteria inducing creatures at bay and out of the public eye, only to be dealt with by agents like Kris and Susie. A few select incidents had been rumoured to slip through the cracks, however, though details on these were kept far away from the eyes of Susie or Kris.

Too many eyes to close. Too many mouths to shut.

Despite many researchers investigating the waters of Black Falls over the years, it was concluded time and time again that there was nothing natural causing this effect. This water flowed in from Lake May, which the town was built on the coast of. The town was originally much larger, but in a time far before either Kris or Susie's, half of the town had sunk into a cavern that the town had unknowingly built many structures on top of. Many lost their lives, and this accident only strengthened people's beliefs in the town's status as an epicentre for the supernatural. Despite this, many flocked there regardless. As long as the land between the sinkhole and the lake didn't rupture, and as long as the town sunk no further, it would continue to draw traffic.

Once Susie and Kris had driven to the town limits, they parked just before a large forest-camo coloured military truck that was parked across the width of the road. On each side of the road, two armed guards stood stoically and watched the van intently. One a large brown bear monster wearing glasses, the other, a younger looking human with short black hair. Both dressed head to toe in military armour and fatigues, and wielding imposing semi automatic weapons.

“They have em here too? Geez.” Susie muttered.

“You have your badge on you, right?”

“Yeah.”

The bear spoke first, walking to the driver-side window of the van.

“Drivers licenses and IDs please.”

Instead of either, Susie and Kris took out small black cards. On one side, a single red strip cut diagonally from the top left to bottom right corner. On the other, red text on a black background read “HB”. They handed their cards to the bear, who instinctively took out his flashlight, pressed it against one of the card's sides, and turned it on. Out the other side, a red light in the shape of the “HB” lettering mixed with the red stripe shone against the door of the black van, along with words “Kris Dreemurr”. He handed the card back to Kris, doing the same thing with Susie's card. “Susie Gardon” shone out from the backside of the card, which was quickly returned to Susie.

“Good to go. Enjoy your stay.” The bear confirmed.

“Thanks.” Kris replied.

The bear gave a thumbs up in the direction of the truck's front. The vehicle soon revved up thunderously, and drove forward off of the road. Kris and Susie passed the truck as they drove into Black Falls. Passing the town's limits, they were quickly surrounded by aged, but stable buildings. The faded, once vibrant paint of the surrounding area gave off a strange feeling of nostalgia which both Susie and Kris felt deeply. When they had come here many years before, banners and flags of all kinds hung from building to building and flapped proudly above rooftops and balconies. It seemed to be a somber time for the town now, which left them wondering what could dampen the spirits of the town this severely. In addition to a lack of decorations being present, the townspeople themselves were oddly absent as well. Few people or monsters wandered the streets, and those few that did walk the streets wore faces that reflected their dull environment.

“Wow.” Kris remarked. “This place is a lot less colourful than I remember.”

“Yeah, I barely remember it at all, but even I remember more colour.”

“You think that was just nostalgia?”

“Nah, something's wrong.”

“Hm, wanna go somewhere else?”

“No, no, it's fine.”

“Are you sure? I'd hate for our time off to be this depressing.”

“Nah, really, it's fine. Let's just find a diner and have some coffee.”

“Alright.”

Within a few minutes a diner came into their sight. A small, unassuming restaurant just before the edge of a waterfall that drained into the sinkhole. “Darryl's Delights” shone in pink cursive neon atop a sign pole in the middle of the parking lot. Overshadowing the diner from across the sinkhole was a five storey hotel. Dark wood with a golden trim around each window and balcony forced a fairly imposing feeling upon Susie and Kris as they stepped out of the van. A harsh breeze ripped through the air atop the cliff side as they walked to the metal railing just before the waterfall.

As expected, the water was pitch black, just like last time they were here. It was nearly unreal how the liquid seemed to take all the light from its surroundings. Not even the sun could reflect off the water's surface. Susie's hair blew sporadically in the high winds while Kris' relatively short hair gently raised and lowered on the breeze.

“You ever gonna cut that thing? Or put it in a ponytail at least?” Kris prodded.

“Nah, dude. This is like, part of my identity.”

“Doesn't help much when ya can't see.”

“I can see just fine, thank you!” Susie shot back playfully. “You're one to talk, mister 'brooding anime protagonist'.”

“You call me that again and I'll beat your ass.” Kris chuckled.

“As if you could.”

“... I'd give it a good try, at least.”

The two sat in silence for a while, letting the ambience of the blue sky and rushing water say all that was needed for that moment. Eventually, however, there was something weighing on their minds that needed to be said. The quiet was nice, but unusual to say the least.

“Slow day.” Kris deadpanned.

“Yeah. I wonder what's going on.” Susie remarked with an air of inquisitiveness.

“Not sure.”

“Maybe we should ask the guys inside?”

“Maybe, just don't get too into it, alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, don't get wrapped up in anything too serious.”

“Why's that?”

“It's our week off, remember? If we do find something suspicious, we'll call in about it, but as far as everyone else is concerned we're off the grid right now.”

Susie sighed a bit and looked to the water.

“Yeah, I get ya.”

“Besides, we deserve this.”

Gently patting her shoulder, he gave her a reassuring look that said more to her than any actual words could. Susie could only nod in response.

“Now,” Kris sparked, retrieving his hand and letting it retreat into his pocket. “Let's head inside.”

A high pitched bell rang through the quaint, checker-board floored diner. The red seated, floor mounted stools squeaked softly as Kris and Susie sat together. The pristine red marble shone gently from the sunlight outside as they watched a tall mechanical monster of sorts walk out from the back. A tall, humanoid, steel automaton stomped to the counter. Said stomps very subtly shook any objects near it with its weight. Pipes and wires untidily hung from its back, somewhat covered by a steel sheet. Its front side was much more professional, however, being mostly flat, polished steel. A large, but dim spotlight acted as its head, a dull orange glow emitted from within the glass. Both Susie and Kris were rather surprised, but mostly Susie, as valiantly as she attempted not to show it. Robots, and mechanical monsters in general, were rarer than most, so seeing one in such a public setting was an uncommon sight.

“Welcome.” An older male sounding voice rang through a small speaker in the monster's collarbone area.

“Hey, you're Darryl?” Susie asked.

“No, ma'am. Darryl is unable to come into work today, so I am covering for him. I'm covering for everyone, actually, so apologies for the slow wait times or lack of service.”

“Huh. What happened?”

“Strict curfew. Lavender Telson, Seventeen, went missing three weeks ago. This place, despite its rather touristy nature, has quite the close-knit community. This sort of thing doesn't happen often. They're still looking for whoever did it.”

Both Kris and Susie could feel the grimness of the statement.

“That would explain the heavier military checkpoint outside of town.” Kris remarked.

“Apologies if this put you off of our town.”

“No, no, it's fine.”

“... I suppose I should've taken your orders first. Apologies again, I am... quite inexperienced with working in the front.”

“No worries.” Susie sighed. “I don't suppose you have any chalk on hand, do you?”

“Chalk? As in-”

“Yeah, sidewalk chalk is best, but any kind will do. If not, uh... Well, what do you recommend? I'm really just looking for a drink and a snack.”

For future reference, Susie thought, it was probably ill advised to ask a robot with no mouth what food it would recommend. Luckily, he didn't make it a bigger deal than it was.

“For drinks, our cocoa is made from the finest ingredients available, topped with whipped cream. I've also been told our cherry pie is to die for.”

Susie grinned and looked to Kris, who returned her expression with a far softer smile.

“That sounds good to me.” Susie said with a hint of enthusiasm.

“Wonderful. And you?” The waiter asked, gesturing to Kris.

“I'll have a pie too, but with a coffee instead. Three cream, three sugar.”

“It will be prepared shortly. Your total comes to thirteen dollars and forty five cents.”

The meal, if you could call it that, was quite heavily enjoyed by the pair, to the point that they had to restrain themselves from ordering seconds. A perfectly sweetened cherry flavor exploded through their bodies and brains, leaving them both heavily satisfied, not to mention the exquisitely brewed coffee and hot chocolate. Kris made a note to return with haste on their next visit. With a fully satisfied pallet, they retired to one of the booths that faced the side of town closest to Lake May. On one side of the soft red booth, Kris nonchalantly read a newspaper that had been placed on the table, while Susie peered out the window at the rest of town. She looked to the buildings that just barely rose up above a couple stories at most, the rivers that ran between some, and the bridges that ran over-top the rivers. An adequately relaxing view at the very least, but Susie couldn't help but wonder how serene it could've been had the circumstances been different.

Just her luck, she thought.

“Any word in the papers about that kidnapping business?” Susie asked, her eyes unaverted from the window.

“Nope, this is up to date, too.”

“Huh. I guess in a small town word travels quickly enough with stuff like this. Or maybe they just don't want to arouse suspicion? Three weeks, though... Seems like a long time to keep something like this out of the press.”

“Yeah.”

“Think this could be our department?”

“Susie.”

“Right, sorry. It's just... weird, you know?”

“Yeah. Look, let's drive around town for a bit, see what there is to look at and relive some memories. Then we'll head to that hotel and rest. Get us into some new clothes, and hopefully into a new state of mind.”

“That... sounds nice, actually.”

“Let's head out then.”

With their goodbyes said to the waiter, they left and hopped in their van, going about their day.

Unusually fast, the day did saunter on as the pair wandered the near empty streets, stopping at the occasional antique shop and thrift stores. Of course, one of these destinations was to be the gift shop, despite Kris nor Susie enjoying the prospect of seeing very real creatures and fears reduced to plushes and figures. Though they could hardly blame them, maybe familiarizing the public with these things could dampen their effect in some way, and besides, it was doubtful most of the public knew of their existence at all. Regardless, not a cent was given as the pair walked out of the shop and into their van. On their way to the hotel to have a rest, Susie took note of a side path that she hadn't noticed earlier, only a short distance from the hotel.

“Hey, slow down.” Susie urged. Kris pulled alongside a sidewalk, and both took note of a tall white monument at the end of a road that led away from the sinkhole and into a small forest of sorts.

Curious, Kris drove down the road to the strange memorial. A white stone cube served as a base for a rectangular tower that stretched at least a couple dozen meters into the air. Halfway up the monument, the rectangle began to rotate into a sort of screw-like form, tapering off into the disgustingly sharp top. The structure was surrounded by a large, very well kept clearing of grass. The front of the monument had an inscription that left an unnerving feeling within them.

“Lavender Telson, 17

We hope and pray for your return.

To all you could have been.”

They didn't speak, but the feeling of loss within them said enough. Kris solemnly turned the van around and began to drive back to their original destination. After a day of roaming the town, the effect of sub-optimal sleeping schedules began to weigh heavily on their bones as they drove into the parking lot of a certain “Sleeping Waters Hotel”. Multiple suburban houses lined the side of the street opposite the hotel, making it easily the most crowded part of the town. The sun dipped halfway below the horizon and showed no signs of stopping as the clamour of shoes upon gravel signalled Susie and Kris' arrival, both of them carrying black suitcases. The hotel towered over them imposingly, as if it somehow knew how comparatively insignificant they were to its size. The sound of softly squealing metal reverberated through the hotel lobby as the windowed dark wood doors peeled open to welcome them.

The lobby was not unlike any other relatively high class hotel, featuring detailed, yet abstract paintings stretched across the impeccably well polished wooden walls. Sofas of various pastel colours surrounded wooden coffee tables with glass centres, hosting at least one fake plant in a vase on each. The receptionist, a very blocky grey stone monster with a dark blue eye in the middle of its head, greeted them, and they quickly got assigned to a room. A host of identical red-carpeted hallways and stairs led, eventually, to their space.

What immediately jumped out to both of them was a third floor view of the sinkhole through a large window. Never getting the chance to see it from such an altitude, the rushing black waters of the town's rivers and waterfalls mixed with the clear blue waters of Lake May all glistened off the buildings and windows made for a rather serene sight. Clouds approached on each side of the town and surrounded the area in a quickly gathering storm. The rest of the pair's room was quite typical, consisting of separated beds with an end table between them, a large television, and a door to the bathroom. Kris sat on one of the bed's side as Susie flopped onto the other, stretching her limbs out and sighing in relief.

“Man, you were right. We do deserve this.”

“Told ya.”

“Thanks for this. Really. I uh... Didn't realize how much I needed it.”

“You're welcome. It's nice to break out of the routine.”

“As much as you love your routines, right?”

“Hey, I like sticking to what I know.”

“Well I'm gonna stick to this bed and watch TV.”

“You do that. I'm gonna go take a shower and brush my teeth.”

Kris took his suitcase into the bathroom and was about to close the door before quickly asking something.

“Need in here before I shower?”

“Nah, I'm good.”

Susie knew it was going to be quite a bit before she saw Kris again, so she switched the television on. Not caring enough to switch it from the channel it was already on, Susie kept the TV on the news channel for the local area. She knew nothing from her organization would ever show up on there, nor any news station for that matter, so it was interesting peering into a world where it almost felt like they didn't exist. Because to the world at large, they might as well not. The amount of effort that went into ensuring this scared her, and though he didn't want to admit it, it made Kris' skin crawl as well. As far as Susie knew, neither of them understood the full extent to which the organization's hands reached. Anyone who spoke out, released videos, or even made public comments about their work was quickly silenced. Their minds were changed, either by persuasion or force.

Susie attempted to breathe deeply to expel the stress from her body, and focus on the TV. Dozens of minutes went by as the evening turned to night, and the sound of water rushing through pipes remained. Kris had always favoured long showers, and it wasn't hard to see why considering the various, sometimes copious amounts of undesirable fluids and parts that could end up on a person in his and Susie's line of work.

A new sound manifested outside Susie's window as well, in the form of a heavy rain. A weather forecaster dully spoke about the upcoming storm in the Black Falls area before the news cast suddenly cut to two different news anchors, a male and a female human. This shook Susie out of her trance and drew her full attention.

“Hello Black Falls County.” The male news anchor said in a wavering tone. “We're here with you tonight to bring incredibly unfortunate news. This... may come as a shock to all residents within our humble town and the neighbouring ones, as such I highly suggest you prepare yourself.”

The newscaster paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“Yesterday, at nine in the evening, the body of seventeen year old Lavender Telson was discovered in the basement of Zachary and Harry Jacob's house. The offenders have been arrested and confined accordingly in Black Falls Police Department, and are currently awaiting-.

And that's when the screaming began.


	4. Demon, Part Two

A blaring, mournful woman's scream echoed throughout the room. It felt like its source was a great distance away, yet it was loud enough to be heard as if it was right next to Susie. Nothing felt inhuman or supernatural about the scream besides its pure volume and odd presence. Through many walls, through the rain, through the television, through everything, it was still heard. Susie's expression turned to one of immense distress as the screaming grew louder. Her teeth clenched together and her eyes shut in an attempt to decrease the sensory overload. Blood stirred in her veins.

And then, there was only silence and darkness.

The sound of a lightning strike shook the purple dragon awake and into a sitting position. She looked around her in a daze to find that she was back in the shack outside the lighthouse. The shack's door, rather than being locked up tight, was now banging against the frame it was attached to. Forced open and closed by the high winds and harsh thunderstorm outside, the constant reverberating impact of wood against wood was as ceaseless as the battering of rain against the roof. Susie looked down and saw that she was in the same clothes she had on the last time she had the same dream. Yet, though she realized that she was in a dream, she didn't awaken. Rotted and water-damaged wood deformed beneath Susie's feet as she walked through the doorway, looking in both directions.

The lighthouse stood tall and proud over the thrashing sea below. Though the rock around the cliff surrounding it had fractured and chipped off here and there, the tower remained a shining beacon above all but the menacing black clouds that rose higher than it. There was something else, though. It was previously unnoticed, or perhaps it never existed before in the first place. A dark, somber toned piano piece, originating from within the lighthouse. Masked underneath the torrent of rain and lightning, each note built upon the last and resonated a feeling of emptiness within the dragon's stomach. Once the sound of soft and dainty notes began to make themselves more and more known to her, the entire landscape around her turned black as pitch, and the ambient sound was muted.

Susie's eyes darted around the unlit area as her head turned in all directions. Where was she? Why was it her place to be subjected to these incredibly vivid dreams? Was this the work of some anomaly? Thoughts raced in her head as her breathing quickened before a light appeared far in the distance. Behind a large stretch dark rectangular silhouettes glimmered a radiant golden glow, though what caused it was both too far away and behind too many dark blockades for her to discern. As she stepped towards the light, more and more of her surroundings began to make themselves known to her as she walked over a short bridge that spanned the rushing water.

It clicked in the dragon's mind that this was Black Falls. A darkened and warped version of it, but the layout was unmistakable. Using her rather limited knowledge of the town, Susie figured that she had started her walk at the diner and was making her way toward the beach. Wasting no time, she rushed past the shadowy bridges and in the shrouded streets between the buildings, getting ever closer to the light before...

Susie stood still. The beach was only a block away, but something in the alleyways of this place caught her subconscious attention.She looked left towards the alley in a slow and deliberate manner. There, laying on the ground between two towering buildings, was a figure cloaked in black clothing which obscured every part of its body. The being writhed upon the ground, making soft, pained whimpers. Susie's stomach dropped, and an immeasurable fear crept up her body that she couldn't rationally explain in her head. Her heavy steps echoed off the buildings around her as she ran back towards the beach. The boots she was wearing sunk into the ground a bit as she realized she was now stepping in sand, unable to tell from sight alone.

The waters of Lake May stirred as she found the source of the bright, golden light. A ring of golden radiance hovered about a dozen feet in the air above the more shallow waters of the lake. Runes and symbols that were beyond Susie's understanding rotated in a slow circular motion around the light. The lavender dragon lifted a shaking scaled hand to the glow before two similarly golden lights emerged from the circle's centre in the form of radiant human hands, which hovered on each side of the circle's lower half. One of the hands faced Susie and exposed its palm to her, its fingers stretching outward. Out of the ring came a soft-spoken male voice that, despite its quiet timbre, blared across the dark lands.

“Your life has taken an unfortunate turn to end up here.” Remarked the being.

“What the hell are you?” Susie gasped, nearly out of breath as she almost tripped stepping backwards, her eyes wide while staring into the light.

“I'm what your 'Anomalous Investigation Bureau' would call an Anomaly. I am between your world and another. Catching glimpses of yours while watching from mine. What you’d assign me as a proper name is something lost on me.”

“Okay... and how do I know you're not just a part of my imagination? Because this really, really feels like a dream.”

“You do not know, though you will in time.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“I have no interest in doing so, nor do I plan to harm you.”

“Then what was up with that person back there in the alley?”

“A previous visitor. From the same organization as you, I believe. He was... unable to understand.”

The opened hand closed into a fist, the other hand opening in its stead. It produced from it an elderly, resentful voice.

“He had a house in Black Falls... but he did not live there.”

The hands switched once more, returning to the softer voice.

“Do you trust your colleague? The one you refer to as 'Kris'?”

Susie's eyebrows furrowed.

“Of course I do.”

“Are you certain?”

Susie's voice began to lace with frustration. “Yes! Why wouldn't I? I've been working with him for as long as I can remember, and I've known him since we were kids.”

The hand from which the elderly voice spoke snapped into a different position. All but the index finger and thumb clenched into a fist, the thumb pointing outward and index finger pointing upward. With this, the figure disappeared, but not before the godlike voice spoke once more.

“Ask your colleague if he has knowledge pertaining to a certain event known as 'Lost November’. Then, you will understand the true nature of your place in this world. Goodbye, Susie.”

Susie stood alone on the beach of the darkened town for a while. Lost November? What could that be referring to? She had never heard such a thing from Kris, nor anyone in the organization. Was it possible he truly knew something she didn't? Before she was able to finish any thoughts, the sound of a floodlight humming to life caught her attention from the south. She looked to her left and saw a large wooden shack on a pier leading out into the water, one she hadn't recalled seeing in either version of the town. A soft orange light glowed from within, beckoning her to investigate.

The sand muffled Susie's footsteps as she walked up a road, soon reaching the pier. The wood creaked below her feet as she stepped on the bridge leading to the large platform holding the shack, the building being about the size of a suburban house. Something in her mind screamed at her to wake up, but it was too buried in her subconscious to make a difference. A red, wooden door stood between her and the shack's interior, which she opened with trepidation after taking a deep breath. What met her eyes was a wooden stage masked by a red curtain. It was illuminated by a warm orange light for which she could find no source. She slowly walked inside as the door closed behind her, looking around at the rows of wooden bleachers that faced the stage on both sides of the door.

Something compelled her to walk up the bleachers and take a seat on the row in the middle, between the seats closest to the stage and the ones furthest away. She waited and watched the stage as the red curtains parted to reveal two wood marionettes held by strings, standing with about a meter between each other. Both marionettes were faceless and humanoid, but the one on the left side of the stage was coloured purple while the other was a wooden brown color. She needed no explanation as to what that symbolized. The purple marionette lurched forward from its standing position, and from it echoed a very rough stage whisper.

“I think this is the way.” The voice coughed out.

“I really hope so.” The same voice spoke back as the other marionette stood still.

“We can get out of here. Just a little longer.”

The purple marionette began to walk left, almost walking off stage before it stopped, noticing the other one wasn't following.

“What's wrong?” The purple marionette asked.

The brown marionette pointed upward. The purple one walked slowly to it and looked upward with it. They both stared at the pretend sky for several seconds, up towards where the strings that controlled them came from. The marionettes trembled for a second before dropping to the floor as the wooden hand controller clattered to the stage's floor as well. A woman's ear piercing wail emerged from somewhere below the stage and grew in volume so quickly that it made Susie jump and cover the sides of her head. The screaming grew louder and more powerful as the shack's foundation began to crumble into the lake below, the wood where Susie was seated broke and splintered as she fell in the water underneath. A pained expression spread across her face, clenching her teeth like a vice before her body flung downwards into unending darkness, with not a shred of light to reach her eyes and not a hint of oxygen to reach her lungs.

Air rushed into Susie's lungs as she awoke in the hotel bed. The battering of rain against the room's window along with the rumbling thunder was loud enough that it should have, by all means, woken her up long ago. She groaned as she stretched her arms above her head, moving to sit at the edge of the bed. Kris spoke from behind her.

“Morning.” He deadpanned.

“Mornin'.” Susie mumbled, her words shakey.

“You fell asleep before I was even out of the shower. I guess it was a long day for you, you even left the TV on. A shame about that girl.”

Susie tried desperately to hide the worry on her face.

“Bad dream?”

“No, no, just... that scream last night.” She sighed, turning to see Kris in a black shirt and dark blue sweatpants.

“What scream?” Kris said, a concerned look on his face. Susie replied with a wordless, confused expression.

“What scream? You mean you didn't hear it while you were in the shower?”

“I, uh... No?”

The dumbfounded dragon looked down in confusion. Had it truly all been in her head? It was strange that Kris hadn't immediately exited the shower once the screaming started, and it was certainly loud enough for him to have heard it even over the running water. She knew there was one way to find out, but she wasn't sure how to work it into something that didn't feel forced. She took a deep breath.

“I guess it really was a long day.” Susie sighed.

“Must've been, for you to hallucinate screaming.”

“Yeah. Not as weird as the dream I had last night, though.”

“I thought you didn't have any dreams?”

“I said I didn't have any bad ones. Not as bad as some dreams I've had, anyway.”

“Well, what was it about?”

Susie figured the lighthouse part of the dream must have been somewhat unrelated, so she kept that to herself.

“I was in this really dark version of this town, and some... light creature asked me about something called 'Lost November'. Then, I went to this weird puppet show, and... everything went black. Just bullshit I'm sure, but it was weird.”

When she turned to Kris, she saw all the color drain from his face.

“Huh. That’s weird.” Kris responded. His voice showed no concern, but his face told a different story. He followed this statement up immediately.

“Wanna go down to the dining room and get some breakfast?”

“Uhm... yeah, sure.”

“Meet you down there.”

His wallet clasped in his hands, Kris hurried out the door. Susie's mind immediately fell into a whirlpool of racing thoughts. Was the thing in her dream telling the truth? The look upon Kris’s face implied it had. An uncomfortable feeling stirred inside and weighed down the dragon's stomach. Kris was never one to keep secrets, so what could this possibly be about? Her bed creaked as she stood and walked from her comfortable hotel room out into the hallway.

The red carpeted hallway and fancy lights that adorned its walls rushed past Susie as she speed walked down the passageway towards the lobby. A knock came from one of the doors she passed, specifically, inside it. Stopping in her tracks and looking left, Susie saw that the noise came from a janitor's closet, of all places.

“Hello...?” The door opened, revealing Kris nervously beckoning Susie in. She followed, and as fast as the door was opened, it was shut. The pair stood a few feet between each other in a spacious room lined with shelves of cleaning supplies. The air reeked of bleach.

“Okay-” Kris sighed. “I can explain whatever you want me to after this, but there's something you need to tell me first.”

Susie, taken aback, responded with haste.“Yeah, alright, but why couldn't we just talk in our room?”

“Too risky, they might be listening.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“They have chips in our uniforms, Susie. They can record audio and transmit our location. I just hope no one was listening in, our uniforms were in the room.”

“Why is it such a big deal?”

“Because you aren't supposed to know about Lost November. At least, not yet. So tell me, was it really a dream, or did someone tell you?”

“It was a dream, I promise.” Susie stated with assurance.

Kris stood back with an empty and confused look on his face. Susie continued. “So, what is it?”

There was a long pause between her question and Kris' eventual answer.

“This is as much as I know... Lost November is what happened when a mining company stumbled into something they were never supposed to, about eight years ago. A mine way up north got everything within about a mile of its entrance moved forward in time by a month. This happened when one of the workers there cracked open a small cave. Only the foreman survived, I think, and he reported the entire month of November being lost to him in an instant. Now the place is heavily locked down and guarded by the AIB.”

Kris paused.

“When that cave was uncovered, it... changed something. Across earth alone, the organization got readings of billions of radio frequencies, electromagnetic readings, all sorts of unnatural things. Even more frequencies appeared in space, and in some of the deeper areas of the ocean. Everything went haywire. We're pretty sure that's what's caused all the anomalies in recent years. A majority of them were harmless and hardly noticeable. A tree would move a few inches, a table would disappear, things like that. As for the more dangerous things... Well, you've worked for the organization for a while now, you should know where I'm going with this. We should consider ourselves very lucky that much more dangerous things weren't spawned into existence here. We're playing the part in cleaning up after this event as best we can, but I'm scared that one day something will emerge and we won't be able to stop it...”

The two stood in silence for what felt like minutes, Susie frowning and looking at her feet while trying to comprehend the information given to her. All of this was a lot to handle, the thought that all of this was started by a simple mistake. Even with all the horrible creatures she had seen, knowing that there was a possibility of even more carnage sent shivers down her back. Kris continued on.

“That's really all they told me. I'm sorry I kept that from you, and I really should not have even told you now. You were going to be informed by them once you had been with the AIB for a longer amount of time, like me.”

“Don't apologize.” Susie assured. “I'm not gonna accuse you of lying or something like that, I know you better than that. You were put into a shitty situation and this is how it ended up. Not much you could have done about it.”

Kris sighed in relief, the worry in his eyes fading.

“Thanks, Susie.”

“Yeah. Lets get out of this room. I'm pretty sure we're trespassing, and I need to grab my phone from the room.”

And so they left the room, stepping out into the empty hallway, to the relief of both of them. While Susie grabbed her phone, her head was still scrambled and vibrating with thoughts. The idea of her dream being just that, a dream, was out of the question now, the only explanation for it was some anomaly or vision. But just to make sure, she would have to phone Berdly. What was the motive of that creature made of light? The dragon also wondered if there was any particular reason one had to be experienced with the organization in order to understand the things she was fighting more. Even then, Kris wasn't told the full picture either. Did this mean that members with far more prestige than her or Kris, like Glare, understood the full extent of what happened?

These thoughts invaded Susie's mind until they had finished walking to the lobby. The stone desk clerk there stood motionless as he greeted them with a whisper-like old male's voice. They then headed to the diner to the left of the lobby. Fancy dark wood tables and chairs sat entirely empty, as did the bar where one would usually order food. It seemed that not even ghosts could inhabit such a desolate room, even with its high class look and feel. Regardless, the pair sat at a table silently, thinking to themselves for a moment. Susie pulled her phone out of her pocket and began dialing a number. As she did, she noticed the time was already ten to one o'clock. Had she really been asleep for that long?

“Who are you calling?” Kris asked.

“Berdly. I saw something else when I slept, and I need to figure out whether it was real..”

The phone made multiple beeping noises of different tones as she held it to her face. After one ring, the phone was picked up. Susie turned the speaker setting on so both her and Kris could hear.

“Oh, hey Susie. What's up? How's the vacation?”

“Hey, It's uhh, fine, I guess. I was just wondering if you could tell me if anyone from AIB lived, or lives in Black Falls.”

“Uhm... I can. Do you have anyone in mind? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing's wrong, I don't think. It's sorta hard to explain, but it would give me some peace of mind.”

The sound of keystrokes followed, and after a few seconds of silence, Berdly spoke once more.

“Huh. Agent Chol has some property in Black Falls, but it isn't listed as his place of residence, just a place he happens to own.”

Berdly paused for a few seconds before continuing with an uncomfortable sounding tone.

“He was part of the object and area investigation sub-organizations, but he went missing a couple years ago. Last seen in Black Falls.”

“He had a house in Black Falls, but he did not live here.” Susie's mind repeated.

Berdly continued on hesitantly.

“His property there was investigated, my files say, but if I try to open any documents related to that I'm blocked. Says 'Administrators only, please request access from administrator.'. ...About a hundred percent of the time, if you have to ask, y-you're not allowed in. Sorry, Susie.”

A chill went up Susie's spine, as whatever faith and trust in her organization she had began to further waver.

“It's fine, Berdly.”

“Anything else?”

“No, I'm good I think.”

“Alright. Stay safe, you guys.”

“We will. Talk to you soon.”

The phone call ended, and Susie looked up from her phone and towards Kris with furrowed eyebrows.

“Don't look at me.” Kris said with an equally puzzled expression. “I didn't even know an agent Chol existed.”

“Good to know I'm not alone with being in the dark.”

“Yeah. I may have three years on you but that really isn't that much in terms of how things get drip fed to you around here.”

“Hm. Well, it doesn't look like we'll be getting any food here.”

“Yep.”

“Wanna head to Darryl's?”

“Yeah. Let's go.”

“So it hadn't been a dream after all.” Susie pondered. If her experience was more akin to a vision than a dream, what did that mean for her future? What was the meaning of the puppet show? Were the visions of the lighthouse significant? All these questions rushed through her head at once, all before she had even had a chance to get up from her seat.

The wooden chairs squeaked upon the floor as they left the room, and soon after, the building. The van revved to life as Kris pulled out of the parking lot , Susie looking out the passenger side window in silence. The weather hadn't calmed down whatsoever, and all either of them could hear was the pounding of rain upon the roof of the van. They had just turned the corner and were on their way to the diner when the sound of a woman's scream tore through the rain's sound and caught both their attention. Looking towards the direction of the scream, Susie found that it came from the clearing where that tall monument to Lavender Telson stood. A crowd gathered around a few meters away from the middle, watching something. Vehicles were piled around the entrance to the clearing, leaving just enough space to drive through.

“Emma! Stop this, please!” A male, middle-aged voice pleaded from the crowd that the pair were making their way through.

“Emma!” The voice painfully repeated.

Breaking through the crowd of mixed monsters and humans, Susie and Kris found another middle aged, female human woman in a soaked yellow dress. Her brown, unkempt, shoulder-length hair flailed as she struck the point of a large pickaxe into what was left of the engraving on the monument’s front. What was left was a large cracked indent, with white stone pieces surrounding it. An older man in wetted dress pants and a white shirt stood just behind her, attempting and failing to calm her. Kris walked forward.

“Ma'am, please-”

He had no time to finish as another strike of the pickaxe into the monument was made.

“Ma'am, I-”

“Stop! Shut up and stop!” The lady screamed back at him. Her face was wrinkled and mournful, while her eyes were bloodshot. Black mascara trailed down both of her cheeks. She continued to yell.

“Are you one of those fuckers who stood by and waited for her?! You never looked! You never even cared!”

The man next to her simply stood, his body and lips trembling as tears ran down his cheeks.

“Fifteen pounds.” Emma said in a deep, almost growling voice. “Fifteen fucking pounds, when they found her.” She took a few sharp breaths. “Weighed less than the backpack she used to take to school... Nothing but bones and skin...” She weakly whimpered as she fell to her knees as the pickaxe dropped to the grass.

Susie felt her stomach sink.

The woman tried to speak through the sobs. “Wh-What if she could've been saved? If they didn't spend time making that horrible thing...”

Before she could finish, the sound of police sirens grew louder until a squad car drove up behind the crowd, which dispersed as officers hustled towards the lady. One went behind the sobbing woman and cuffed her, bringing her to the back of the squad car while the other officer got into the driver's seat. As the police car drove off, the man who was next to Emma walked to what was left of the broken inscription. The monument stood tall still, but whatever it was built for was now only in the memories of the people who had read the inscription.

Susie walked towards the sobbing man.“I'm... so sorry.” Is all she could bear to say.

Wanting anything but to linger for much longer, Susie walked back to the van, as did Kris. When the doors shut, the uncomfortable silence that fell over the two lasted all the way back to the diner. Neither of them exited the van when Kris parked it. They sat, and watched out the window to the sinkhole in front of them. After a while, Susie finally broke the silence.

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“That this whole trip wasn't as serene as I'm sure you would've wanted.”

“... Yeah.” Kris sighed, looking down at his lap with a grim look. The one time they had gotten time off together, and they fell right into another unfortunate situation. Susie could tell that it impacted him rather deeply. Kris wished that for once, they would be able to not get involved in something like this. He felt as if it was inevitable now.

“Lets go inside, Kris.”

The pair exited the van in silence, avoiding the puddles that formed all over the empty parking lot as they stepped into the diner once more, the light from its windows almost acting as a beacon through the storm. The robot from before was standing behind the counter, and greeted them back just as warmly as the checkerboard floor and soft red stools.

“Welcome back.” He remarked in a surprised tone.

“Thanks.” Kris responded. “I'll have a cherry pie and a coffee.”

“I’ll have a piece of pie too, but with hot chocolate instead.” Susie added.

“Thirteen dollars and forty five cents, please.”

Kris pulled out his card and inserted it into a small machine behind a cash register. The order went through, and the robot retreated to the back to prepare it. It was silent besides the rain outside a moment before speakers in each corner of the diner crackled to life. From them came a very slow song sung by a soft-spoken female singer. It seemed to be a love song, from what little the pair could discern from the low quality speakers. The main emotion of the song got through, though, and the pair were left with a feeling nostalgic, melancholy.

“Y'know what this place reminds me of?” Susie said as they awaited their order, turning to Kris.

“What's that?” Kris responded, looking back to her.

“QC's.”

Kris looked around for a second.

“Huh. Yeah, I guess it does.”

“I knew I felt familiar here. Guess the pieces just didn't connect until now.”

“We haven't been home in a while.”

“Yeah. I wonder how it's holding up.”

Their order was served at the counter and they calmly had their meal. With every second that went by in the place, they felt a weight lift off of their shoulders more and more. Everything there emanated a feeling of familiarity and calmness. It was like if they stayed here, time would stop, and everything outside would just fade away. A place divorced from everything else. What further reinforced this was the fact that the entire day passed in what felt like a few hours. Just as Susie finished the last of her hot chocolate and half listened to what Kris and the robot were talking about, she looked outside and noticed that it had stopped raining. The sky was made up of the fading orange glow of the sunset, surrounded by dark, churning clouds. The storm would pass soon, Susie thought.

As she looked out the window and towards the sunset, something caught Susie's eye. Sitting in the booth closest to the window, directly in the middle of the table… was a wooden box with a crank on its side.

It took a second for everything to click together, but when it did, Susie's eyes shrunk and her breathing quickened. She blinked once, and the box was gone. A rush of nausea trickled upwards from Susie's stomach and into her head as the world spun around her. 

She needed to go.

“We need to go. Thanks for everything.” Susie breathed, sitting up and quickly walking out of the diner.

“Wha-? Okay.” Kris responded in confusion, chasing after her.

Susie was already halfway to the van before Kris had even exited the store.

“Susie, what the hell-”

“I'm sorry, I-I guess that place was... too familiar, you know?”

“Susie... What's wrong?” Kris questioned.

“I saw the box, Kris. The box that- that thing had.”

“You mean...”

“Yeah, I do. I saw it, and just, something hit me really bad and I just feel sick now. It went away after I blinked, so I'm probably just going crazy, but-”

“Susie, stop, please.”

Susie took a deep breath, a horrible sorrow accumulating in her eyes.

“... I'm sorry.”

“It's fine, Susie.”

“No, it isn't-”

“Okay, I forgive you.”

Susie gulped, and stood with her left hand rubbing her right upper arm before resting on her shoulder. Her eyes stuck to the floor in shame.“Okay.” She replied in a weak breath.

“It's okay, really. We're gonna be fine, that was a long time ago and we don't need to think about it anymore, okay?”

“I... I can try.” Susie muttered.

“That's all I ever ask of you.” Kris assured.

The two embraced, both of them closing their eyes as they did so. One touching the other was not a common occurrence, not by any means. But in those rare instances where it did happen, both Kris and Susie treasured it. They both tried to act strong for each other, and most of the time it worked, but they both knew that every now and then, everyone needs to feel tenderness and closeness.

Though, it didn't last long.

Susie opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of something running across the road on the other side of the sinkhole. She could hardly make out anything at that distance except that the thing was dark blue and at least twice the size of her, and that was while it was hunched over.

“Oh, hell.”

“What?” Kris asked.

“Look behind you.”

The embrace ended and Kris turned his head. With small steps he began backing away towards the read of the van as his breathing quickened and his eyes widened. His mind and body became absorbed in thought, and he didn't spare a word until he reached the van. Susie followed, the back doors parting to reveal the armoury where they equipped their weapons in a panic. As she gathered pistol ammo, silver knives, and her cleaver, she noticed Kris hadn't equipped any armour. Not only that, he was loading rounds into his shotgun that she didn't recognize. He looked at her and nodded.

“That'll be fine. Let's go.”

“What about our armour?” Susie questioned.

“It'll take too long. We need to stop that thing.” Kris replied, loading his steel shotgun with grave intent.

They had abandoned the hope of not getting involved. It was no longer about the organization or anything like that, their priorities had shifted to keeping people safe. The van peeled out of the diner’s lot and tore down the road in the direction they had last seen the creature scurring off in.

“I've got a good guess of where it is.” Susie claimed.

“The monument?”

“Yep.”

“That's where I'm going.”

Susie nodded as the wind rushed past her window. The light of the sun was just strong enough to give the pair decent optics, but it wouldn't last long. With urgency, the van's tires squealed as they turned the corner onto the road to the clearing and monument. The dragon and human exited the van and gazed upon the clearing as they ran forward.

The monument stood tall, yet taller above was a humanoid beast grasping each side of the top half of the monument with its clawed feet. Crouched over the tip of the structure, the beast had rock-like, dark blue skin which glistened off of the fading sunlight, and one horrifically large arm the size of its already massive body. Its other arm seemed to be fused with its midsection, a large and skinny hand clutching its belly from just under its skin. The thing's face consisted of a single large, gaping mouth with rows of small, sharp teeth. On the back of its head was a white eyeball as large as the mouth on the front, frantically looking in every direction.

The bloodied and indiscernible body of a monster hung pierced through its chest atop the tip of the monument, whatever type of monster it had been was now obscured by viscera. Another body sat at the front of the statue by what remained of the inscription, beaten to the point of it being unrecognizable. The head of the anomaly turned to Kris and Susie, and before anything could be said, the surrounding area shattered into jagged fragments like fragile glass being shattered by a hurled rock. The clearing was now the only thing that seemed to exist, everything else had been turned into a pitch black void, leaving them alone with no means of escape.

Kris trembled, and Susie's breathing quickened.

“Susie?” Kris wheezed .

“Yeah?” Susie rattled back.

“Call Berdly. Tell him there's a grief demon in Black Falls, and to send whoever they can.”

Kris had hoped it would never come to this. He knew demons like these were several levels above his or Susie's pay grade or level of expertise, and thought he would likely never see one for how rare they were. Nevertheless, a grief demon stood in front of them. 

Drawn to incredibly potent negative emotions, demons would make their home in the host's body, morphing them into horrifying physical manifestations of their emotions. No one had ever seen the demons themselves, just what they turned their hosts into. Demons attempted to cause as much emotional pain as possible to anyone in their surroundings, in order to prepare them for possession. Due to their agency training, both Susie and Kris had been informed of even the rarest of creatures, so in those rare circumstances where they encountered something beyond their ability to handle, they would not be blind sided entirely.

They knew they hadn't been transported anywhere, and that the world fading away was only an illusion made by the demon. They knew that these illusions could only be manifested if the creature faced them at some point. They knew that the illusions were very real, and very dangerous. Yet most important of all, they knew they stood no chance in combating the creature.

Susie began to dial Berdly, walking backwards from the monument while making sure not to step off of the edge of reality and into the void surrounding her and Kris. The phone rang twice, and was soon picked up. Instantly Susie began rushing words out, her breathing getting more and more erratic.

“Berdly, we've got a damn grief demon in Black Falls, if there's anyone qualified to handle that, please send them here!”

Berdly's tone shifted to one of panic.

“Shit. F-Fuck, okay, I-I'll find someone, just try to distract it for now if you can. Someone will be there soon, d-do not let it touch you!” Berdly stuttered out.

“Got it. Hurry, please!”

The call ended and Susie slipped the phone back into her pocket as she grabbed her cleaver with one hand, and took hold of her pistol with the other. Kris had already taken out his shotgun from its holster, and was holding it with shaking hands. Susie had never seen him so rattled before, leaving them both in a helpless state of mind.

The two stared at the creature atop the monument. Unmoving, it stayed still for what felt like minutes, clasped onto the top with both its feet and hand before it bent its torso backward, letting go of the monument slowly as it dropped towards the ground. Before it landed, however, a pool of dark violet liquid manifested just below the creature. It made not a sound as it landed in, and then disappeared inside the pool. Afterwards, the liquid itself disappeared after the creature did. Susie stepped forwards, next to Kris.

“Stay together. Keep your eyes open.” Kris shouted. The silence of the void beyond them slowly evolved into a deep rumbling noise, like earthquakes from the sky. Every moment mattered then, and no matter what Susie thought about the situation before, her goal was now clear. Stall for as much time as she could before reinforcements arrive. Usually situations like this would be avoided entirely, with more skilled members of the organization dealing with higher level threats. Though exceptions weren't entirely uncommon, this was one of the worst. Susie tried her best to keep her breath from becoming frantic as she made a conscious effort to inhale and exhale in as controlled a manner as she could muster..

From behind both of them, the noise of sloshing water reached their ears. They both ran forwards, narrowly missing a massive stone hand that fell to the ground with thunderous force, the grass beneath it shrivelling up and turning brown within seconds. The hand reached out from a violet pool of liquid, the same kind that the demon disappeared into just moments before. The pair stepped back.

“Y-You think we can do anything to slow it down?” Susie stammered.

“Not unless our bullets can pierce solid rock.” Kris replied, a tinge of despair in his tone.

They continued to back away as the demon pulled itself out of the portal, its many rows of malformed and disfigured teeth gnashing and chomping as it clambered onto its feet. It was much too far away to notice before, but now that the demon was closer, both of them noticed a soft sobbing noise echoing from within its mouth. It sounded similar to a woman's voice, but had a much deeper tone and register. The thing crawled across the ground towards them, they readied their weapons, aiming them directly at the creature's face.

It then spoke.

“A... Demon?” It croaked out.

Susie's heart fell into her stomach, and her pupils shrunk. She almost wasn't able to react to the demon's hand suddenly reaching toward her, the tips of its fingers grazing her shirt as its knuckles curled into a fist.

“You think I chose this?!” The demon continued, seeming to strain her throat in despair. “I just wanted her to be safe!”

The ground beneath all three of them began to sink and dissolve, the middle of the sudden sinkhole situated just below the demon. Wailing in pain, the demon's back split in two like a broken seam, and from the dark fog held within shot dozens of shadowy tendrils that took the shape of elongated arms and hands. Kris bolted in the other direction, Susie following not far behind, their breath becoming shorter by the second. The handbook had never mentioned anything relating to free, conscious speech. Susie now knew that what she saw days earlier was in fact a beast talking of its own accord. Something that, to their knowledge, was never recorded in the entire history of the organization. If something well documented enough to be in the handbook lacked this information, it had to have been a new development. This left Susie with just one question. What did it mean?

Absorbed in thought, Susie's lack of focus was her downfall as she tripped over a stray piece of rubble from the monument, falling to the ground with a thud as the ground crumbled beneath her, her cleaver clattering to the ground. This left the pistol as her only means of self defense.

“Susie!” Kris screamed, turning around as fast as he could. By this point, Susie was already being pulled towards the demon, and multiple black tendrils had already grabbed a hold of her ankles.

“Run!” Susie screamed back, gritting her teeth as she tried to break free of the demon's grasp. Kris refused, instead running to her and grabbing both of her hands in a desperate attempt to free her. The muscles in his legs burned like liquid fire as he tried to pull her away from the beast, only to have his efforts nullified by the strength of the tendrils. Kris' hands slipped, his strength not great enough to keep hold of Susie’s hands.

“No!” Kris rasped as Susie was pulled into the demon's clutches. A few pathetic gunshots at the creature rang through the air, but it was all for naught as its stone hand engulfed Susie vision. All feeling and semblance of consciousness left her body.

And there she remained, in a world of pure darkness. At least, for a moment.

Soon, Susie found herself regaining consciousness. The first sense to return was her hearing. There was nothing much to be heard save a loud, high pitched ringing, and a very faint crackle of electricity. Next, touch, and the nauseous discomfort of blood rushing to her head. Third, the scent of burnt rubber and gasoline filled Susie's senses, increasing the sense of nausea tenfold. Fourth, the taste of blood filled her mouth, the source of which was her own tongue. Lastly, she opened her eyes to see a single headlight illuminating the upside down forest outside, through a far from intact windshield.

“No... Not this. Anything but this.” She thought. Her seat belt dug into her midsection like razor wire, and she could feel herself losing blood fast. Something with four very tall, pale, wood-like legs walked softly into the forest.

She could take that. She could take anything, as long as she didn't look at the passenger seat.

Kris panted as the grief demon lurched from its place in the submerged soil, slowly clambering up toward him. His eyes jumped about like a wildfire. He knew this was no time to play hero, as much as he wanted to jump up and shove a shotgun in the demon’s maw. It was Susie's life he was playing with now, as well as his own. This made damaging its belly a major risk. He had to think smart. Kris stared the creature down. All it could do in return was show its wide open mouthful of teeth.

Before Kris could react, a liquid pool manifested from under the creature, opening directly behind him. Kris gasped as he attempted to jump from his position and turn around at the same time. This only partially worked. Kris fell on his back and immediately felt a searing pain scatter across the back of his right leg. At the same time, a vision tore through his mind like a serrated knife through tender skin. A vision of... Toriel, in tears. His eyes shrunk as his pant leg dampened with the blood from the cuts. They were deep, but it didn't feel like anything major had been hit. Even still, he failed to get to his feet when he attempted to do so, instead falling backward as the creature slouched down, its teeth grazing his shoes.

Stammering half hearted curses and threats as Kris struggled to crawl away from the creature he was facing. His knuckles were white as a ghost as he gripped his shotgun. He felt his eyes begin to water as the creature came ever closer. It drooled a pus-like substance as it spoke once more.

“Your f-friend has been k-keeping secrets...” It stammered out in a low, no longer feminine croak.

Kris gritted his teeth, readying his shotgun with anger and hatred in his tear-soaked eyes...

...As his first shot failed to hit the creature.

Susie felt her consciousness fade once more, as she struggled to stay awake in the flipped vehicle. She felt bile build within her stomach as tears trailed upwards past her forehead and into her scalp. She knew this is exactly what it wanted. It wanted her to look.

“Please! Don't make me do this!” She attempted to cry out, her voice instead forcing out a frail whimper. Through forces that weren't her own, her head began to turn to her side. She began to hyperventilate as she watched her vision slowly turn to the figure in the other seat. Then the screaming began. An ungodly, pained female scream that lasted longer than anything with normal lungs could sustain. The screams echoed second after second, morphing into reverberated and distorted versions of itself, surrounding Susie in a torrential cacophony of pained wailing. It hurt too much. She needed it to stop. She needed the pain to end.

She didn't want to look.

Kris watched as the demon wailed into the air, its windpipe being crushed by the monument's spire which laid on top of the thing's mangled neck. It attempted to push itself out from under the great stone, but found it was unable to as its back legs flailed around weakly. Slowly, the world around the human began to reform, the void beyond the clearing returning to forest, and the illusion of the hole in the ground disappearing entirely. Kris panted as he painfully got to his feet, putting most of the pressure on his left foot as he stood, leaning a bit to his side. He lifted his weak hands to hold the shotgun to the creature's head, aiming intently at it with hatred in his heart.

A burst of orange light appeared and faded behind Kris. Soon following this, a heavy hand patted Kris's shoulder. Shooting his gaze back and gasping, the small human saw none other than the looming form of Glare; his blackened goggles wouldn't even meet Kris' eyes as he pulled his hand from Kris’s shoulder. Instead, Glare reached over his own shoulder, and retrieved an incredibly long rifle from a holster strapped to his back. The instrument of death was almost as tall as he was from muzzle to stock, mostly composed of a silvery metal, and looked like a weapon meant for long range use, not close combat. When Glare reached an open palmed hand backwards towards Kris, he knew exactly why, and walked backwards a fair bit.

It took but one well placed shot in the back of the Demon's head, directly in its eye. The force from the shot shook Kris to his core and almost knocked him to his feet. Had a large silencer not been fitted on the end of the rifle, he was sure both he and Glare would be deaf. Glare, as expected, stayed still as a stone as the thing's head exploded into a rocky mound of burning blue flesh that gathered in the small crater the bullet made below its neck.

Kris stood in shock, watching Glare return the weapon to its rightful spot on his back, walking nonchalantly towards Kris as if all he'd completed just then was a simple chore. His heavy boots shook the earth beneath him as he stepped in front of Kris, finally looking him in the eyes.

For the first time, a deep, masculine, yet soft voice emitted from Glare's mouthless head.

“... Good work.”

Kris was left shocked as he stared off into space. Glare walked behind him in a slow manner, and just as the flash of orange brought his footsteps to him, it proceeded to take them away.

Kris was left in the cold air of the clearing in silence for a few moments before he hobbled over to the body pinned under the fallen structure. He knew a crew would come to clean it up shortly, and it would seem as if none of this had ever happened by morning. That was simply how the AIB operated. Once Kris was next to the midsection of the body, he began to hear pained groans come from within, followed by a large, purple arm emerging from the creature's split back. Out spilled Susie, her clothes drenched in sweat and unknown fluids. After freeing herself of the confines of the demon’s body, the dragon tumbled off the creature's body and onto the cold grass below. They'd left their uniforms and spare clothes at the hotel, in their current blooded and battered state there was now ay they could go back there without raising questions and suspicions. Their belongings would have to be retrieved by the AIB later. For now, they had no choice but to leave town.

Susie panted while she lay on the ground, looking up towards the night sky with eyes wrecked and hazed by tears. Kris was unsure if he'd ever seen her in such a state as her lip quivered and her body shook.

“I... w-we need to go...”

“Yeah.”

Kris extended a hand toward the dragon on the ground, and after a moment of silent contemplation, her hand met his, pulling Susie both up to her feet and into a warm hug.

“I am... so sorry.” Kris uttered.

“It's okay... let's... let's just get out of here.”

No more needed to be said. The pair, in their soaked and tired states, walked out of the clearing, collected the weapons they'd dropped along the way, and entered the van from both sides. The engine hummed in a slower, more quiet fashion than both of them felt usual, as if the vehicle itself knew that it was time to leave with as little fanfare as possible. The dragon and the human fell silent for the duration of the ride out of town, only stopping by the docks of Lake May to wash their clothing off as best as they could. The road winded down along the edge of the sinkhole as the town vanished behind a wall of trees. A few hours later, they drove off into a side path, onto a dirt road that went far into the forest, and parked their vehicle in as obscure of a spot as Kris reckoned they could find.

As they exited the van, the human and the dragon both noticed something retroactively about the clearing where the whole sordid affair that had cost them their vacation had culminated. As the moonlight shone through the trees on both sides of the road, and the forces of nature chirped and whistled away in the woods, they recalled how the clearing near the monument was completely silent, despite being surrounded by trees much in the same fashion as here. Kris thought that, perhaps, the feeling of mourning was so thick in the air that even the wildlife took notice.

Soon enough, the moonlight faded as Kris shut the doors to the back of the van, making sure the van was secured before laying down on one of the cots, Susie doing the same on the one parallel. They rested in silence for a moment before Susie spoke, uttering out what she could. Her voice sounded as if it was torn from an hour of wailing and screaming.

“... Kris?”

“Yeah, Susie?”

“I-...”

Her voice cracked, and although it was too dark to see, he knew the tears were coming.

“I want t-to see her.”

“Want to see-?”

He cut himself off. He knew.

“... Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” She replied through the tears.

“... Okay.”

The light of day shone brightly through the windows of the van, assaulting both of their sleepless forms with far too much light. The hospital parking lot burned as the asphalt below struggled not to melt in the intense heat. They sat in silence for a while. As much as they relied on each other, both for emotional and physical support, there was an air of uncomfortable awkwardness that struck the both of them into a near lifeless state. The blackness of the spare uniforms that they had stored away in the van didn't help either.

“Are you sure you wanna-” Kris started, quickly being cut off.

“Y-Yeah. I do.”

“... Alright. I'll wait here.”

With that, Susie exited the van and began walking towards the front doors of the hospital. They opened automatically, and she took a moment to sanitize her hands before walking into the crowded lobby. The sick and elderly lined the bright white walls in sickeningly sterile chairs as a children's TV show emitted barely audible music from a television in the corner that was far too small for the comparatively larger room. The human lady at the front desk, someone Susie had come to know as Laura, recognized her nearly immediately.

“So soon since the last visit?” She questioned in a soft voice, her blonde hair bobbing a bit as she looked up from her computer with worried blue eyes. A part of her despised the pitied looks from the people here, but she knew it was inevitable, and to try not to take the looks as attacks on her strength. A part of her hated that she even had these thoughts.

“Yeah.”

“She's in a good state right now. I'll let you through. You know where to go.” Laura replied.

“Thanks.”

Susie stepped to the left of the main desk and through a set of double doors and into an elevator on the right. The machine hummed as she pressed a finger on the elevator button next to a stencilled “3”. With each door that opened to that room, she felt a weight gather on her shoulders. She walked out of the elevator and into white, sterile halls, same as the one below, and likely above. Through these identical hallways she walked, over and over, until she was met with one single hospital room.

The violet dragon gulped, attempting to keep the tears at bay. The door stood like a monument to her fears, towering over her with an aura of malice. She swallowed this fear, and turned the knob to the door. It creaked as it slowly opened, revealing a quite normal looking hospital room, with one bed next to a large window that overlooked the city. If she had been looking, she could've seen the organization's HQ from there. But she wasn't looking. Instead, her eyes gazed upon the figure in the bed. Susie sat herself in a chair next to the bed, and looked mournfully upon the comatose figure. It was as if a copy of herself was placed there, but it was just slightly off from herself. Older. Darker scales. A more mature facial structure. And yet... So beautiful, sleeping in the sunlight.

“... H-Hey mom...”

The tears then began to flow.

Kris waited for about an hour in the parking lot of the hospital, checking his phone and scrolling through random lists in it when he hit the very bottom. At the deepest section of his contacts, one name stood out to him. A name he hadn't seen in a while. Something in his veins made his heart shudder, and something in his eyes made them just the slightest bit watery.

Mom

Last called:-

Kris choked.

“Five years ago.”

He stared the name in his phone down as his breathing quickened. Maybe, just maybe...

Just then, Kris spotted Susie walking out of the hospital. He quickly turned his phone off, slipping it into his pocket. In an effort to compose himself, he wiped his sleeves on his eyes and took a deep breath. It tore him apart... but she wasn't ready. The door to the passenger seat opened and closed, and Susie now sat silently with red, tear stained eyes. He didn't bother asking if she was okay. He very well knew the answer. What he did do, however, is reach across the van and give Susie a hug. She humbly accepted the hug with one of her own, still sniffling a bit. They held this embrace for a while before parting, returning to their silence. Kris' hand turned the key in the ignition, and the van slowly began to hum once more. Before driving, Kris looked to Susie, which she returned. His eyes seemed... understanding. He gave a weak smile.

“You ready?”

Susie took a deep breath, and soon released a heavy sigh. Her lips were still quivering a little, but her tear ducts had more than done their job already. “Yeah.” She replied in a soft, but broken voice.

The rubber of the wheels scraped against the asphalt below as they tore out of the parking lot, leaving only the smoke of the tires, and hopefully their sorrows, in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Stinkin_Thinkin for his invaluable insights and edits, and to everyone else who supports and enjoys my work.


	5. Leadliner Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Skinkin_Thinkin as always.

A particular feeling washed over the human and dragon pair. One they hadn't felt in a long time.

The stale air of the hotel room felt thick enough that one could not walk through it. The open windows did little to help, nor did the sweltering evening sun pouring in from them. The hotel was just well off enough to keep good rooms at good prices, although this came at a cost of a lack of entertainment in them. Kris and Susie laid upon separate beds, staring at the white stucco ceiling, the only diversity provided by a slowly rotating ceiling fan. Eyes half lidded, lips ever so slightly ajar, the feeling ever present.

Boredom.

The organization had always kept them busy. Even on off days they were waiting for a call to action. But today, no such call would come to save them from the indecisive air of indifference. They only had that evening and the day after left, and then they would be back to work. Sure, they could have travelled to someplace, but anomalies seemed to only give them solace in the relative safety of the hotels they stayed in. Sometimes, even that was untrue, such as in the case of the infinite stairwell incident. Though that was a story for another time.

Nevertheless, there they lay at nine in the evening, the withering sun dipping below the horizon. That would solve the heat issue at least, but not much else.

“Kris.” Susie croaked, her face putting in the least amount of effort it could to make words emerge from her lips.

“Yeah?” Kris replied in much the same way, his usual deadpanned demeanour seeming more prevalent than ever.

“I hate this.”

“... Yeah.”

“If we don't do something, anything, I'm gonna explode.”

“Well, we have to train tomorrow to get back into working shape. So... We have tonight to do whatever we want.”

“Wanna go anywhere?”

“Not really. Not unless you're driving.”

“I'll put us in a damn ditch at this hour. You know me.”

“Hm.”

The two stayed unmoving for a while before Susie sighed in exasperation. She tore herself from her bed and sat on the side of it. Her face bore an expression of lifelessness as she cast her gaze to a small wooden bedside cabinet. Gathering just enough strength to stretch her arm to open it, she found a fairly generic card deck inside. A small amount of life filled her face, turning her expression from that of a corpse into... someone about five minutes away from being one. What mattered is that it was an improvement.

“Hey, a deck of cards.” Susie mentioned. “Wanna play something?”

“With just the two of us? Wouldn't that be a bit boring?” Kris replied, still stuck in his near comatose state.

“More boring than what we're doing? Doubt it.” Susie scoffed.

“Still.”

“Yeah, I get it. Sucks we don't have friends.”

“It's not like it's our fault. Nature of the job, and whatever.” Nihilism almost dripped from each word the human spoke.

The momentary silence was soon broken by a strange proposition.

“What about Berdly?” Kris asked.

“What about him?” Susie replied, her brows furrowing a bit.

“We could call him and see if he could come out after his shift.”

Susie's brow furrowed further.

“Can we... do that? Like, can organization members just... hang out?”

“Don't see why not.”

“Well his shift ends like, thirty minutes after midnight.”

“You and I both know we'll still be up by then.” Said Kris in a tone that sounded like a representation of an eye roll.

“Yeah... hell, we woke up at one in the afternoon.”

Susie pondered for a moment before shrugging and reaching for her phone, the deck of cards still in her hand. Susie dialed Berdly’s number and waited for the avian monster to pick up.

Silence came from the other end of the line after the proposition was struck.

“... Y-you know my shift ends at like-” Berdly stammered

.

“Yeah, like, twelve thirty, I know.” Susie rushed. “And I know this is probably super weird to ask, but it's just... so, so boring here. And, hell, when's the last time we've even been able to do anything outside of work shit? When's the next time an opportunity like this'll ever happen?”

The silence from the other end returned, but only for a moment.

“I'm... I mean, I'd like to. I-it's not like I have anything to do after my shift ends, but... you sure?” Berdly asked, his shy nature palpable even through the phone. Susie sighed as a look of understanding crossed her face.

“Let me rephrase, then. Berdly, please come hang out with us.”

The last moment of silence was the longest one.

“... A-Alright.” Berdly replied. “Where are you guys at?”

“Leadliner. You know where that is?”

“I have an idea. I'll be there as soon as I finish up.”

“Thanks, dude. We'll be in the dining room.” Susie replied, a humble smile stretching across her face.

They still had a few hours to go, but having something to look forward to was what mattered.

Three hours and forty five minutes later, a faded blue car pulled up to the driveway of the hotel. Out of it stepped a tired blue bird monster, dressed in a plain black sweater. Kris and Susie waved from the windows of the dining room at him, as he waved back with a smile.

“It's weird seeing the bottom half of him. I was starting to wonder if there was anything behind that desk at all.” Susie remarked with a smile. She turned from the window to Kris, who smiled back and shook his head, a single snort of laughter flaring his nostrils.

The dining area was generic at best, like any other middle budget hotel in the province. Wooden and metal tables and chairs dotted the floor, the only break from monotony being a small counter where there was coffee, tea, and other hot beverages waiting to be made. It was free to make for anyone with a room, or at least, Kris and Susie assumed that's how it worked. The place was silent, save for the human janitor who occasionally passed by as he worked through the night shift. He was an older man, at least in his early sixties. Both Susie and Kris hadn't a reason to interact with him during all their stays at the Leadliner. The most the pair got out of him was a content nod, and as far as they were concerned, that was all either of them needed.

The ring of the front doors being opened announced Berdly’s arrival, walking calmly toward the table where Susie and Kris sat. An extra chair was reserved for him, which he proceeded to sit on.

“Hey, guys. Th-Thanks for inviting me out here.” Berdly spoke, a soft smile upon his face.

“Hey, thanks for coming. Don't sweat it, dude.” Susie replied, her excitement evident. “I'd ask how work was, but I'd guess it was the same as ever.”

“Heh, basically, yeah.”

“There's coffee up there if you want some.” Kris said, pointing towards the counter at the other side of the room.

“Nah, I don't drink that stuff. Thanks though.”

“Well, there's tea and shit up there too.” Susie added.

Berdly looked to start saying something, but paused, his eyes looking diagonally in thought.

“I... do drink that stuff.” He replied with a smile, leaving his seat just as fast as he had taken it, and walked to the counter, perusing the selections on display.

“This place is pretty nice. Quiet.” Berdly started, talking a bit louder to cover the distance between them. His voice echoed a little off the empty dining room walls.

“Yeah. It is pretty late, though.” Susie replied.

“Y-You think we'll bother anyone?” Berdly said with a tinge of worry in his voice.

“Nah, this place usually doesn't have a lot of people here anyway.”

Berdly sighed in relief.

“Oh, that's good!”

A few seconds passed before Berdly returned to the table, setting his steaming mug of mint herbal tea down to join the pair's mugs of coffee.

“Never took you for a tea person.” Kris said with a little surprise in his voice.

“R-Really? What'd ya take me for?” Berdly questioned.

“Uhh... I don't know, water, I guess.”

“Well, water's good and all, but it doesn't really... take the edge off, y'know?”

“Huh. That makes perfect sense, actually.”

“Hm? How so?” Said Berdly, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, all you do at your job is sift through disturbing stuff. Makes sense you'd want something to simmer down after.” Susie remarked.

“Heh, i-it's not all that bad, actually. A good amount is kinda boring, really. Well, as boring as things can get around there.”

“I guess there'd have to be some padding between the cosmic horrors somewhere.” Susie concluded, taking a sip of her coffee.

“I thought you liked chocolate stuff though, Kris?” Berdly observed, reclining in his seat a little.

“I do. Why?”

“Dunno, thought you would've gone for the hot chocolate up there.” Berdly posited, gesturing backwards with his wing to the drink counter.

Kris' eyes furrowed a bit, looking down at his coffee.

“Hm. I guess it's the caffeine in this? Helps me stay awake.”

“Ah, yeah, makes sense.” Berdly replied, nodding before taking a few sips of his tea.

Susie thought for a moment. She used to like hot chocolate a lot as well, back when she was a teenager. It was like chalk to her, to an extent. A source of comfort. Now that she thought about it though, she realized she hadn't been having chalk nearly as much lately. There was a familiar craving that she was used to having, and the absence of such a craving going unnoticed made her sort of uncomfortable. She shook these thoughts from her head, taking another sip of her coffee.

“Any cases worth talking about for today? We've been a bit out of the loop as you might imagine.” Susie asked, clearing her throat a bit before speaking. Before letting Berdly answer, though, she quickly turned to Kris.

“We're allowed to ask that, right?” She asked.

“Yeah, as long as it's not any classified stuff, which I don't think we have access to anyway?” Kris affirmed.

“Y-Yeah, it'd mostly just be stuff from different divisions, like area and object investigation.” Berdly added.

“I always thought area investigation would be kinda boring.” Susie pondered aloud, resting her chin on her hand, supported by her elbow on the table. “I mean, I gotta imagine most of it is just mulling over the same place over and over. Can't be that interesting.”

“Ehh, there's been some standout ones over the years.” Berdly contended. “Remember Blood Rock? That was a big one.”

“Yeah, it was.” Kris agreed. “I think that might have been before Susie's time, though.”

“Yeah, no idea what you're talking about.” Susie confirmed with a chuckle. “Sounds gross, though.”

“I-it actually kinda was.” Berdly started. “There was this huge chunk of land that started, just, floating upwards one day. I think it was really far east though, outside of the province maybe? Anyway, this thing was the size of a small town, and they had to, like, keep it from floating off into space. They made huge chains and cables that kept it floating just above the ground, but never going further. When they drilled into it, though, the holes started bleeding this gross, dark red mud. Hence the name.”

“Geez. That seems pretty major, was it widespread?” Susie asked.

“Nah, luckily it was secluded enough that the public never really caught wind of it. The AIB made outposts both surrounding and on top of the rock though, and started mining into it.”

“Huh.” Susie said, a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. “Wait, you said 'remember' Blood Rock. What happened to it?”

Berdly, shot a glance to Kris, who shrugged, a neutral look upon his face. Berdly then looked to his feet nervously, replying soon after.

“It uh... Broke free.”

“It what?”

“It... gathered lots of force and just... boom. Shot up into the air. Never to be seen again. Broke a satellite on its way out, too. Apparently it was a real pain to figure out who had to pay for that. Anyways, yeah, the thing just went to space and didn't come back. Took millions of dollars worth of mining and measuring equipment with it.”

Berdly shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“And... a couple dozen researchers.”

  
  


“... Damn.” Susie replied, her eyebrows high and her eyes wide with shock..

“Yeah... Th-That wasn't a good day for the organization. Apparently, all the important data was kept off the rock, so they prepared for that at least. That data is classified, by the way. Dunno what they actually found. I just know it happened. The AIB had to bribe a good few astrologists into saying that they totally did not just see a rock with buildings on it fly into space, too. It's a wonder how the company even recovered. Y'know how hard it is to bribe people who're looking for extraterrestrial life? It's one heck of an investment!”

“Geez, I bet. Kris, you never told me about that?” Susie looked to Kris, dumbfounded. He shrugged in response.

“I guess it never seemed too important.”

“Guess not. Still, though.”

“Oh!” Berdly exclaimed. “Th-There was something cool that happened today, a report from one of the object investigators. We got a report of an unusual amount of anomalous activity coming from this guy's shack in the woods. Turns out the guy had a hunting bow he used to practice shooting, just for like, a hobby sorta thing. He woke up that day and started using it, and it... changed. If you drew it with an arrow knocked, it would start to glow with this weird white light. If you fired the arrow, the bow would shoot out, like, a dozen spectral copies of it in a spray. If you were focusing on a specific target, the barrage would hone in on it. Really cool stuff. Guy looked really sad when they said they were confiscating it.”

“I'd imagine. That sounds like something a few of the higher level hunters here would use.” Kris said, a bit more interested now.

“Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Hey speaking of higher ups, I heard you guys got Glare t-to talk to ya.”

“Just him.” Susie nodded towards Kris. “I was too busy getting eaten alive.”

“Yeah...” Kris affirmed, scratching his head with a bit of a nervous expression. “Didn't say much, though. Just 'good work.'”

“Wow.” Berdly raised his eyebrows. “High praise from a guy like him”

“Guess so.” Kris deadpanned.

“Man.” Susie started. “If you were even a little enthusiastic about it, I might feel jealous.” The dragon teased.

Kris breathed a laugh. “Well I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking 'Wow this dude is a big deal and he's talking to me.' It was more like 'Wow, that gun probably weighs more than three of me and I'm about to be reprimanded by the scariest person on the planet.'.”

Berdly and Susie both chuckled. Kris just shook his head, a smile too genuine to hide upon his face as he took a few swigs of his coffee.

“Worked out fine though.” He concluded.

“Y'know they have a betting pool set up for around guessing what his real name is?” The bird monster asked at the tail end of his laugh.

“Shit, really?” Susie replied, eyes wide.

“Yeah, it's like, a hundred or so bucks at this point. Every time someone guesses, they gotta chip in some money, and whoever guesses it gets the whole pot. Glare doesn't seem to mind, but he's probably just waiting to see how many people will waste their money.”

“Heh. It kinda doesn't occur to me often that Glare is like a real living thing with emotions and thoughts and stuff.” Susie realized.

“Yeah. I mean, one of the only things we know about him is that he used to run a bar. Or was it just a restaurant?”

“I could imagine him as a bartender.” Kris added. “He's real good at listening.”

“Yeah, but like, he's also real good at killing stuff. Dunno, something about that laid back lifestyle doesn't fit him for me.” Berdly spoke.

“All walks of life come to the organization. Besides, people are complicated things.” Kris stated.

“Seems so.” Berdly replied.

The room fell silent for a while. Not an awkward silence, but one of contentment. For the first time in a while for Kris and Susie, and longer for Berdly, they all felt at some level of relative peace. 

Berdly watched a few cars drive down the road beyond the parking lot, and as he watched the lights from those cars flicker past, he felt sincere relaxation overcome him. He knew it wouldn't last. All three of them did. What mattered though, is that it happened at all.

“I'm really glad I came.” Berdly said, mostly directed towards himself.

“We're glad you came, too.” Kris added.

A moment of silence.

“But... as great as this was, I-I should be on my way. I've got work, you've got training, all that.”

“Yeah, and it's really late.” Susie noted.

“Yeah. Thanks, though. This was nice, a-and I hope we find the time to do it again. It's something to look forward to, y'know?”

“We'll figure something out. It was great having you.”

The trio got up from their seats. As they were packing their things up, Kris offered Berdly a handshake. A moment of subtly being taken aback passed before he accepted, smiling and nodding at Kris. The process repeated with Susie. Their goodbyes were said, and the trio was a duo once more.

"Huh." Susie said.

"Hm?" Said Kris with a look of slight confusion.  
  
"... We never played any cards. I completely forgot to bring them."

"... Huh. Yeah. I guess it doesn't matter much now."

"Yeah, I guess not."

Kris and Susie returned to their rooms, a restful night in preparation for the day ahead.

Berdly drove down a dark street at the edge of town, lit by a scant few flickering lamp posts. His path took him down a street most people and monsters had forgotten, even the city itself seemed to have lost track of it. 

Dogs barked once in a while in each direction, their owners as obscured as themselves, as if trying to reach out to anywhere, to be remembered. Yet nearly the only thing that travelled those roads was the chilled wind passing through without a thought. On the street sat a tall brick apartment building, congruent with the many other near identical ones in the surrounding area. The hum of the old blue car ceased as Berdly stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the front entrance, the handle of a black organization suitcase in his hand. The key slid into the door and, as expected, opened to the rest of the complex. Up the stairs he walked, passing floors filled with people and monsters of all sorts, until he reached the seventh floor, just one below the top.

Into his apartment he walked, not bothering to turn the lights on. As dishevelled as his surroundings were, they were also nothing if not memorized in the back of Berdly's brain. Clothes gathered on the floor in nests of uncleanliness. No time to clean or organize with the amount of work he did, and any time off he did have was spent doing nothing of note. His mind was tricked into believing that if he did anything productive, the day would feel like a waste, even considering how the productiveness would likely benefit him. Despite being a potential source of time wasting, the small flat screen television that sat parallel to a clothes-covered couch hadn't been turned on in months.

He passed the spare bedroom, filled with old furniture and mattresses he had no use for, and past the bathroom into his room. The room was in a state similar to the rest of the domicile, aside from a bed kept mostly free of debris, and a small desk which had his still operational laptop plugged into a wall outlet behind it. The screen still showed upon it a chat log. He set his suitcase down next to his bed and took his sweater off, throwing it next to where he intended to sleep on the bed that night. But that night, there was a break in the routine.

Berdly walked back out into his living room, then out the sliding glass doors that led to the balcony. He let the cold breeze rustle through his feathers, and set his glasses aside as he leaned on the railing. A horizon of golden windows upon tall black monoliths met his gaze. Something he'd never taken the time to appreciate. Perhaps this place was forgotten, but it was not lost. Not yet. He smiled, the first genuine smile he had felt that wasn't from conversing with his brother. He took a deep breath of the outside air and rubbed his eyes.

“Something to look forward to.” He muttered under his breath.

Retrieving his glasses, he stepped back into his home and shut the city out once again, yet another day of work in his near future.


	6. Violet Coast, Part One

“The hunt will bring you to the edges of the world. You will travel to the furthest shores of depravity, and into the deepest depths of isolation. Beasts prey upon the weak of will, and if you act without caution, your mind will be cleaved asunder.”

~ Hunter's Manual

Towers of purple steam and black soot poured from obsidian smokestacks, polluting the sky with an ever-present suffocating smog. Dozens of green lights cut through the haze as monsters and humans alike walked the streets where many once resided, steel masks upon their faces.

A rumbling from below shook the earth.

Many miles away, the sound of the van door slamming sent ripples of sound through the chilled air, forceful enough that it could have caused an avalanche. Luckily, the great white mountains to the north and west of them spared Kris and Susie a swift burial. The wind chilled their bodies to their core, with the black winter coats zipped around their forms doing little to help against the cold.

The northern reaches of the province were known to be barren and lifeless, even during the summer months. Temperatures regularly reached below freezing, and everything being caked in a thick layer of snow was not uncommon. Yet, their final destination would take them still further north.

“It gets d-damn cold up here.” Susie sputtered, her face warped into a pained grimace.

“Yeah. Let's get inside.” Said Kris through chattering teeth, a similar expression on his own face.

The pair walked with urgency to the other side of the mostly vacant parking lot, clutching the handles of their plain black suitcases with shaky grips. The lot, coated in ice, sat at the bottom of a massive mountain range to the north, spanning far past the horizon to the east, and curving to head south to the west. It was here, at the proverbial corner of the world, that a small, pill shaped tram station sat. It burrowed into the mountain and stuck out like a rusted nail from a loose-fitting floorboard. The dark red slanted roof, orange windows, and noise of screeching metal against metal was a welcome contrast from the monotony of snow laden mountains and plains.

“Maybe it'll be warmer there. With the mines and all.” Susie wondered aloud.

“I'm not sure. I hope so.” Kris replied with a nod.

Sunlight tinted gold as it passed through the station's windows, illuminating the usually drab insides of the building with an orange haze. Said insides consisted of two tram tracks that took up most of the interior's centre. Lining the outer walls were benches, newspaper machines, and vending machines that dispensed off brand sodas and chips. Three white tram cars sat on one of the tracks, stained with some sort of dark purple colour. Before any of this, however, was a guard monster sitting in a metal chair that was snug against the wall. It was a mechanical monster similar to the one that manned the Diner in Black Falls, the main difference being that its body had generally been better maintained. The metal and wires of its body were somewhat hidden behind a layer of blue fibre of some sort. Besides this, the thing's head was also different, sporting a circular monitor with a flat lined sound waveform playing across it.

As it spoke in its stern male voice, the waveform changed accordingly.

“Greetings. I'll be taking your ticke-”

The thing cut itself short as it realized to whom it was speaking.

“Oh, you're them. Right then, on you go.” It continued, looking back down at the pamphlet in its steel fingers.

“How did you know? I mean, this isn't exactly our regular uniforms-” Susie inquired.

“All this machinery isn't just for looks, sweetheart. Go on through.”

Susie scoffed in her head. _“Sweetheart? How's that for first impressions?_ ” 

Making an effort to not make eye contact, or rather, screen contact, with the monster any longer, Susie walked past the machine. Kris did the same, not wishing to cause any trouble so early into the job. They'd been on vacation for a few days, but this hadn’t hurt their ability to seem cool and professional. At least, until they were out of earshot. Into one of the trams they walked, a blue, stale interior awaiting them. The purple stains hadn't managed to get inside, it seemed. Not like the faded brown seats that surrounded them could be made any more unappealing.

The pair sat down next to each other as the tram squealed to life, the sparks from the wheels flickering against the tram windows. Luckily, the lights above the human and dragon were the best maintained of anything in the car. In front of them, and on the back of all the seats, were large boxes with a symbol of a gas mask stencilled on. They unanimously and wordlessly decided that these wouldn't be necessary yet. Maintenance lights flickered past the windows of the tram as Susie's gaze trailed backward. In a swift jolt, they descended into the darkness.

“Dick.” She sighed.

“Yeah... sorry.” Kris voiced, a sullen look in his baggy eyes. “This is probably going to be one of the least hospitable places we go to. In general, and in terms of the people.”

“Yeah. Not like we can blame them, though, it's a shitty situation.”

“Mhm. It's a good thing this wasn't one of your first cases.”

“That's for sure, I would've beaten that guy's ass.”

“Probably. You've calmed down a lot since you roundhouse kicked that civilian in the head.”

“It was worth the shit I got in. Seriously, who opens with 'I like a chick who can beat me up'? He deserved it.”

“I don't disagree.”

The small silence that followed was soon broken by Kris speaking again.

“Well, guess we should go over the case files again. Better safe than sorry.”

Susie nodded as Kris sat his suitcase on his lap and clicked the locks on both sides of the handle to reveal a beige folder and a notepad. Setting the notepad aside next to a pencil, Kris began to paraphrase the contents of the file as he looked over its contents.

“The location of interest is a mining town that borders the northern ocean, carved into the earth of a cliff face in a near semi-circular fashion. They're mining a metal named Altestion, a highly durable metal that can bend and warp to abnormally large degrees before snapping. Unfortunately, the rock the Altestion ore is contained in also houses a volatile poisonous gas. This gas slowly deteriorates the mental and physical state of anything that inhales it, making the mine and surrounding areas uninhabitable without gas masks and high powered ventilation systems. Worse still, refining the ore releases even greater quantities of the gas and can double or even quadruple the potency of its degenerative properties.”

Kris inhaled and released a disappointed sigh before he continued.

“This means that whatever’s been terrorizing the miners as of late is quite the peculiar being. Daran, a monster composed of rocks and light, was working in the mines when they broke into a large cave system. His team went in to investigate, but he was the only one to return, and in a state of shock at that. That sector of the mine has been closed off to most mine employees, though a few teams, well armed teams might I add, went in to investigate. They didn't return either. Daran pleaded with the foreman to call people better suited for these situations. We're to meet him in the miner's barracks before descending ourselves. Unfortunately, due to the highly restricted nature of this place, we’re unable to use our own weapons. We’ll have to use the ones they provide us. Nevertheless, as obvious as a mine's hazardous nature is, this case reeks of a sort of... familiarity.”

On that last word, Kris, grabbed a pencil and quickly scribbled the letters “LN” in large letters on the notepad. Susie thought for a moment before it clicked. Miners, and them discovering something catastrophic. It only made sense. She just wondered if the severity was similar, and if so, if it was already too late to stop. Susie grimaced and spoke.

“Shit. Looks like we've got a bigger case to deal with.”

“Could be, but at least we're going early in the morning. Best case scenario is we get in, take care of the problem, and get out by the end of the day. Couldn't be any worse than the last case.”

“Yeah, well...when do we ever catch a break like that? Best case scenarios aren't something we get a l-”

Before Susie could finish her sentence, the tram screeched to a halt. In front of them was a massive circular metal door. Looking behind her, she saw a door of the same make horizontally close, then twist so that the door's seam ran vertically up and down the length of the tunnel. It emitted excruciating squeals as it did so. A male automated voice rang out from speakers perched on each corner of the tram's insides.

“Hello, please properly equip the gas masks in front of you. For assistance, please refer to the instructions located on the inside the box containing the mask. Please do not move, and allow the scanners to analyze your facial structure. If you are a monster without need for a gas mask, please ignore this message. Thank you for your cooperation, your health and safety are our chief concern.”

As the voice spoke, a small slot in the box opened, emitting from it a barely visible, horizontal red light that scanned both Kris and Susie's faces. After a moment of waiting, the metal boxes swung open slowly, revealing grey metal masks that seemed to have been made specially for their heads. Susie's was long and almost cumbersome, while Kris' was smooth and almost flat. The face of the mask was featureless, save for a small black square with a lens inside that protruded from around the area where the eyes would be located. It glowed a bright red colour that, according to the directions inside, would glow green once it sensed a living organism's head inside. The rest of the mask was a jet black rubbery head covering that went down to the collarbone.

Reluctantly, the pair stuck their heads into the rubber, fitting the mask to about where they had expected their heads to go. Without warning, the rubber tightened slightly around their skin, constricting just enough to not restrict breathing or blood flow while at the same time creating an airtight seal between flesh and synthetic material. Soon after the seal was formed, both the human and the dragon realized that wearing the mask was not going to be comfortable. The screens inside of their masks soundlessly activated, beaming the vision of the world in front of them directly to their eyes.

“Wow, it's like a tourniquet for your head.” Susie deadpanned. “This sucks.”

“It's impressive, at least.” Kris replied with actual enthusiasm in his voice. The speech transferred through the masks better than he had thought they would, causing little to be lost in translation.

He looked to the dragon at his side and realized that because of the masks, it would be impossible to get a read on anybody's facial expressions. A drawback he had subconsciously defaulted to categorizing as common sense, but consciously never considered. He didn't have long to ponder on these thoughts before the grinding of steel filled his eardrums and thoughts once again. The door in front of the tram emitted yellow sparks as it rotated. Before the halves of the door separated, however, the same voice from before spoke through the speakers.

“We ask that you please refrain from engaging in risky behavior, keep your masks on at all times, and stay away from dilapidated properties. Follow these rules, and the rules of common sense, and you will be safe. Welcome to Violet Coast.”

With that, the doors parted and a bright purple light shone between them. Kris shut his suitcase and walked to the front of the tram, with Susie bringing hers as well. They held onto the support bars in the middle to steady themselves as the tram proceeded past the doors.

Surrounding them were the ruins of a large city; washed in a thick purple miasma of smoke that discolored everything they looked upon. . Black monoliths of burnt bricks and broken glass loomed over the landscape, and countless black “T” shaped metal structures rose far above the ground around them, their purpose unknown to the pair. In the middle of the city, to the north, was a tall structure that rose even higher than even the most well preserved buildings. Gears and machinery rotated and churned as a thick, worn spike attached to a pole was brought up from the ground, only to be driven back into the earth shortly after. In the seconds following its descent, a deep, earthy rumble resonated through the ground below them; no doubt the source of the rumbling in the tram car.

To the east, south, and west, far beyond the city limits, were great natural stone cliffs that surrounded the city, and rose far above it.

“As if this place wasn't secluded enough.” Susie muttered.

Large wheels carrying buckets of rocks spun ceaselessly in the eastern parts of the city. To the west, tall smokestacks from dark square buildings spewed cloud after suffocating cloud of ash and smog out of their tops. All this machinery together made for a never ending cacophony of grinding metallic noises and pressurized steam. With one more noise to add to the atmosphere, the wheels of the tram screamed like metal banshees as the car came into the station.

The pair took deep breaths and shuffled to the tram's exit. Kris stepped into the station, with Susie soon following behind. The place was nearly identical to the last station in structure, but much more run down and poorly maintained. Most windows that weren't outright shattered were coated in a dark purple film. The wooden benches looked decayed, with most of them broken and scattered across the floor or gathered into the corners of the room in piles that no one had bothered to collect yet.

Their masks could prevent the gasses from getting into them, but no amount of protection could halt the sense of desperation that seeped into every crevice. Susie felt this the most as she looked upon a poster, so worn by the fog and general age that it was unrecognizable. Something about abandoned places instilled a loneliness in her that stayed with her long after she left them.

Exiting the station and stepping onto the rough gravel and rock below, they walked into a circular city square. A road blanketed with fissures circled a large but plain faded green fountain. On the edge of this circle were many old shops and businesses, most torn down to their foundations. One, however, stuck out from the rest.

A large rectangular building made of steel sat on the eastern end of the circle, closest to Kris and Susie. It towered over the land below, being about six stories tall. Despite this, no windows or entrances besides the front door marred the building’s facade. Assuming this was the aforementioned miner's barracks, Susie looked to Kris. Kris looked back. Neither of them were quite used to not being able to see the others’ face. Kris shrugged, and nodded in the direction of the doors.

The racket of the outside world was snuffed out with a metallic bang as the front door closed behind them. Replacing it was the hum of a bright yellow light above them, clearly illuminating the pneumatically sealed metal set of double doors in front of them. The room was a bright steel cube, about as large as a master bedroom, but devoid of any furniture or decoration, leaving the room feeling sterile due to the brightness of the light. Said light also cast its rays on and through the steel grate that they were standing on.

... As well as the large metal fan that spanned the entire room underneath said grate.

Susie, once she realized what was directly below her, inhaled sharply.

“No way.” Spat lizard in a concerned tone.

“Susie-”

“That shit is **not** okay. There is no way someone hasn't been ripped apart by that thing.”

“I highly doubt it.” Kris responded in a stern, but understanding tone.

“I dunno dude, everything else seems pretty awful here, what's to stop this grate from just breaking and-”

A female, deadpanned voice cut through the air from a speaker caged on the opposite side of the room.

“State your business please.”

Kris rose to the opportunity, and walked toward the speaker.

“We're from the AIB, we were called here to investigate an occurence in the mines.”

“One moment. Please stand still and make sure all of your belongings are secure, taking care to confirm that they're not hanging or otherwise loose.”

With an electric crackle, the lady disappeared.

“Oh no...” Susie sputtered.

“You'll be fine, alright? This thing's supposed to hold up to ten miners at once, who are all carrying way more than we are.”

“Y-Yeah... I guess so.”

The silence broke with both sets of doors sealed behind and in front of them. Soon, a large whirring began as the air in the room was vacuumed out. Susie's entire body tensed up. She had always despised being directly above danger. She began to hyperventilate until she felt Kris' hand come to rest on her right shoulder. She looked down and to her right and saw Kris in his mask looking up ather. With a nod, he looked forward, as did she. Her fists clenched as she took a slow breath in, and just as she was about to exhale, the fan stopped, slowly returning the room to its silence.

Susie sighed.

“Thanks. And, s-sorry.”

“I get it.”

The doors a few feet away from them clicked as they unsealed, opening to reveal a lobby similar in its sterility to the room Kris and Susie were standing in. Stepping out and into the lobby, they met with the being at the front desk in the middle of the room. Under the layers of black clothing and the mask, they had no way to tell if the person was a monster or a human. Aside from the desk, the door to their left led to a hallway, and above the door was the word “Cafeteria” stencilled in black lettering. To the right of that doorway was a set of stairs that led upward. Kris turned toward the being behind the desk.

“We're looking for a miner named Daran Pault. We were told he's been instructed to stay here until we arrive.”

“Sixth floor, door eight. You'll have to take the stairs, the elevator's busted.”

 _“Figures.”_ Kris thought.

“Thanks.” Kris replied.

With that, the human and dragon pair started their long trek up the cold staircase. Their boots echoed through the vacuous steel passages of the building, the echos throwing even more loneliness onto the already towering pile of desolated feelings they had. Even in what was supposed to be the place with the most life, it still felt incredibly empty. Eventually, they had climbed up the stairs to the sixth floor, and entered yet another sterile steel hallway. They assumed that not much variation would occur on any of the other floors either, with the building being homogeneous in its design. Floor six, along with the route to door eight, saw no significant change in scenery.

When the door stencilled with a black eight opened, a thin conglomeration of brown rocks, assembled in a vaguely humanoid shape, sat on the edge of a plain white cot. Amber rays of light flowed between the rocks in an almost constant strobing effect. Making up the creature’s head was a tightly sealed sphere of rock with a singular hole in the middle that faced the front of its body. From this hole shone the most bright light the creature created. Although the radiance was intense, it caused Susie and Kris no visible harm. Whether this was due to the masks or simply being a property of the monster's nature neither knew. Nevertheless, the nature of their business brought their concern elsewhere. The room was barren elsewise, save for a small wooden nightstand and two chairs, no doubt prepared for this meeting.

“Daran?” Kris queried.

“Yes, hello. Please, have a seat.” The monster spoke softly. His voice sounded rather calm, with the same timber and resonance as a human in his mid to late twenties.

Kris and Susie took the offer and then each took a seat, one to the left of the door, one to the right of it, but not before Susie closed and locked it behind them. She hoped the gesture would come off as less of an intimidation tactic and more like the formality and privacy assurance that it was. Sitting in her chair and producing a notebook from her uniform, she looked to Kris and nodded. Kris began.

“Before we begin, there's a few things we have to clear up first. I'd like to confirm with you that you're willing and able to recount these events to us. We understand you were in shock after the event, so the knowledge that you're in a stable mindset and can look back on your memories as accurately as possible is invaluable.”

“Right. I've calmed down since then, so... everything should be fine.”

“Well then, let's start from the beginning. From what we've been told you were working in the mines when your team unearthed a previously undiscovered cave system.”

“Yes. It wasn't marked on any of our maps, and we were ordered to scout out more Altestion veins, so our team headed on through.”

The golem paused for a while.

“It... it wasn't their fault, you know.”

“Whose fault?”

“Our boss. It's not like the terrain was unsafe. It's not l-like there was any danger that hadn't been stated outright before. It was supposed to be just another cave system. But... something's in there, man. Like someone inhaled too much of the smoke and just... became something e-”

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud double knock cut through the room's atmosphere. Susie sat up from her chair and opened the door just a crack.

“Apologies, but we're doing confidential work here, you'll have to come back later.”

“”I'm quite aware, agent.” The impatient voice of the receptionist replied. “However, the vehicle to traverse the city streets in safety has arrived. They will be making their return trip to the mines shortly, and they do not have time to linger.”

Susie felt anger well up in her fists. Who gave this lady the gall to barge in and tell them what to do? Were they really so unwilling to see the situation at hand for what it was? She knew she had to keep this anger down; however, and replied with a simple answer.

“We'll be down shortly.”

Before lightly closing the door. Light footsteps trailed off from the other side.

“I... I don't remember much, anyway. I blacked out, sorta. Just... be careful, alright? This is some really serious stuff.” Daran warned. Kris gave him a stern nod and began to head out the door.

“Thank you for the information. Rest easy, we'll deal with the threat.”

“Yeah... hey, one more thing before you go.”

Kris turned to face him. His bright, beaming face stared back.

“A lot of people around here are gonna be rough on you guys. People have already, I'm sure, and they got no excuse for doing so, but...”

Daran looked down in solemnity.

“Just... don't hold it against them too much. Once you're done here, you get to leave. You get to take your masks off and breathe fresh, unfiltered air. We… can’t.”

Kris nodded once more. They weren't entirely aware of the situation here, so they hadn't really given such a thing much thought.

“We'll keep that in mind. Stay safe.” He deadpanned, and shut the door behind him.

The rough gravel crunched underneath the pair's boots as they stepped back out into the smog and metallic cacophony. Another noise had joined the clamor, that of the humming and chugging of a vehicle engine. Kris, and Susie shortly thereafter, looked to the north to see the source of the sound.

A monstrous, deep violet-coloured vehicle with tank-like treads navigated the rubble that littered the broken streets, cresting a large hill composed of cement and trash. The vehicle towered over most single storey buildings, and was wide enough to cover the entire two lane road. The vehicle's interior was akin to a double-decker bus, albeit much larger and with far more reinforcements. Anything that wasn't made out of heavy steel was made out of thick panes of presumably reinforced glass. The glass, unsurprisingly, was the only part of the machine not covered in the thick purple residue. A whistle blew from the lumbering beast of machinery as it came to a stop just on the outskirts of the city square.

The sides of the bus opened, and multiple masked individuals clamoured out of the vehicle, first stepping onto the treads, then to the ground. Kris could pick out a couple unmasked monsters among the sea of masked faces. Their clothing ranged from intact skin tight suits to baggy, torn, and otherwise overused rags and robes. The crowd moved with an exhausted sort of energy around them, as if simply being in their presence was enough to make the pair feel weary. Most of these observations were shoved to their subconscious when they noticed that some of the people were carrying bodies over their shoulders. The lights of their masks shone a crimson colour instead of their usual green. It didn't take much intellect to assume why.

The crowd of about a dozen people packed themselves into the airlock of the barracks, disappearing as the doors whirred shut.

“Hey! You two from the AIB?”

In their trance, they forgot the supposed urgency of their situation, and turned towards the source of the gruff male voice that beckoned them. A fairly muscled, older looking masked human waved at them from the cab of the vehicle. He wore a simple, slightly worn white shirt with a red pair of fabric pants. Around his waist was a black leather belt with some sort of long pocket on one of the sides.

“Yeah, sorry, we'll be right up.” Susie hollered back.

“Alrighty. Make it quick, we ain't got time to waste.”

The dragon and human climbed up onto the treads and into the makeshift bus with a chorus of grunts and sighs, their ascension made all the more difficult due to having to haul their suitcases with them. Once inside, they noticed that both the back and front of the bus held cabs, with their own driver at each end. Between the cabs was a standard row of white leather seats and pole grips, stained by grease, the fog, and all manner of other unknown substances. The other driver wore a skin tight black suit and mask, and didn't seem to acknowledge the pair's presence. The one who had greeted them, however, walked right up to Kris once him and Susie were standing and offered an outstretched hand.

“Name's Jack.”

“Kris.” Kris replied, shaking the man's hand.

“I'm Susie.” Said the dragon, shooting out a hand of her own. Jack quickly shook the offered extremity and nodded.

“Nice to meet both of ya. Looks like you're our only two passengers. Welcome aboard. That lad over there is David. He don't speak much, but he won't cause no trouble. It'll be about two hours to haul this thing through the city to the central mines, so I hope you're ready for a long drive.”

“We're used to long drives, it won't be an issue.” Kris stated.

“I'd hope so, with the work you guys do.”

Jack directed his attention to the silent man behind them.

“Best be on our way then, right Dave?”

David nodded, flipping a few switches before the machine roared to life once again and slowly trudged through the city streets. The machine's grinding noises were much quieter on the inside, to the profound relief of Kris and Susie. Finding a seat that looked to be in a better condition than most, they sat together and watched the shattered windows of the towers around them roll by. Before long, Jack had returned holding a grey firearm, one that neither Kris nor Susie recognized. The weapon was about the length of Jack's full arm, and had a strange threading done to the end of the barrel which would allow something to be screwed onto it. The hulking man dropped the butt of the gun to the ground, causing the floor to vibrate for a second.

“This, my friends, is an Mineral Disruption Carbine, model zero point seven. Most of the miners call 'em MDC's for short. This thing tears through most rock far faster than any pickaxe you could get your hands on, turning it into little chunks that get gathered up for later refinement. Due to the delicate and sometimes fragile nature of the mines, larger mining equipment is pretty rare. They can also be used, if necessary, as a self defense tool. Burns like nothin' else though, so be careful when you're using it. Now, this here is a zero point seven model, which means it has about an average of ten hours of constant usage. It also has an alternative fire mode that shoots a more concentrated bolt of energy. You'll be using zero point fives, which lack an alternative fire mode entirely, as well as the battery life being shorter by four hours. Luckily, this thing's got another trick up its sleeve.”

From the belt pouch strapped to his waist, Jack produced a large pickaxe head and placed it on the end of the barrel, spinning it around until it spun no more, wrenching the thing onto it tighter still until he was satisfied with its placement upon the end of the carbine.

“This is your last resort if you ever get lost in the mines. If you know how to use a pickaxe, you know what to do with this. Mostly there if the MDC runs outta juice. This little addition has saved countless lives, particularly when it comes to cave-ins. Also means that the carbine itself has to be able to withstand being chucked against solid rock over and over, and the precautionary measures made to circumvent that have made this gun... really fucking heavy. Even without the axe head. That does work in its favor for destroying rock though, and a carbine that does this sort of thing would be heavy regardless, so it ain't too bad. Something you just gotta get used to. Now, the route to the troublesome part of the mines is pretty well fortified, but anything past that... well, no guarantees. You guys will be outfitted with some point five MDC's once you get to the central mining facility. You won't be actually mining, so I hope you guys won't have to use it much.”

Kris interjected.

“Apologies if this seems rude, but why are we only being given point fives?”

“Because the people that run this place are cheap sons of bitches.” Jack spat in disdain. “Point sevens are only gifted to a few higher up workers, and none else. We ain't even given spares. If we lose one, we have to order some in from off-site. If I had it my way I'd arm you guys to the teeth, but... Not much we can do. Especially with regulations disallowing any unapproved arms such as the ones your organization uses.”

“... Geez.” Susie remarked.

“It's a damn shame.” Jack continued as the vehicle trekked along its path. “People here come to work and end up stuck. It's a miracle if anyone makes enough to save up and get outta here. For most, they make just enough to get by, but not enough to save. We're losing people daily. The mines are long past their prime and we're not getting as much Altestion anymore. But it's just enough. Enough ore to be worth sending people to their deaths to get, not enough to make the quality of life for us any better though.”

For a moment, only the grinding of the treads outside fill the air. The somber tone in Jack's voice made the lack of facial expression unneeded. The body language had changed in all of them to one of despondence. Jack noticed this, and began to pack the MDC back up.

“Shit. Sorry, I got to rambling again. I'm sure you lads've got bigger issues to worry about, no sense in me addin' to em.”

“No worries, Jack. We understand.” Susie consoled.

“I'll get back to m’ duties. Gotta watch the back of this thing while David drives.”

With that, Jack returned to his chair in the other cab. Kris and Susie were left separate from the rest of the inhabitants, but still within earshot of both. This kept them silent. The shattered skyscrapers continued to loom above them, slowly disappearing behind an ever thickening layer of fog. Kris turned to face the window behind him, inspecting their surroundings to the best of his abilities. Susie, however, looked around the inside of the vehicle once more. Looking to her left, she noticed that the ladder that led up to the second floor of the bus had been sealed off by a hatch. Before she had time to wonder why, the bus began to slow. She looked to Jack, who shrugged.

“Gotta slow down when the fog gets thick, too dangerous, otherwise.”

Susie nodded, giving him an understanding look, but then remembered that he wouldn't have been able to tell. She took this as a sign that she was getting used to the mask, though she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that or not. The subtle suffocation of the stale air became the new norm for her surprisingly quickly. She wondered if this was because she was a monster, and pondered on whether Kris was faring as well as she was. The thought vanished from her mind as soon as the vehicle made a sudden screeching halt. Had they reached their destination already? Surely not, she knew time hadn't gone past that quick.

“David?” Jack hollered. “Why we stoppin’?” 

Susie looked to David, who was looking back and beckoning Jack over with a hand. He stomped over to him with his MDC held tight in his grasp, looking out the window before stopping in his tracks. Slowly, he began to step closer toward the cab.

“Is... is that a person?” Jack muttered, confusion clear in his voice.

Kris and Susie stepped up from their seats and got closer to David's cockpit as well, looking out the front window to the road.

Behind a street lamp that had long ago fallen over, just at the edge of the fog, was a human figure. It stood at about an average male human's height, but stood hunched over and leaning to its right side. The figure wore torn, ragged clothing, whatever colour it once was had been plastered over by the smog’s purple discoloration effect. It shambled towards the bus, shaking as it stumbled over itself. In its right hand was a large piece of metal pipe with a short ninety degree bend at the end. The pipe put out sparks and made deafening scraping noises as the figure drew closer. 

From its helmet emitted a single red light.

“Doesn't the red mean-” Susie began.

“Yeah. It does.” Jack interrupted as he opened the bus' window. It squealed as the heavy glass rotated upward. Jack raised his MDC, placing the middle of the barrel on the window frame for support. Kris and Susie watched in silence as the figure grew closer.

“Hey! You alright?!” He yelled at the encroaching man. “Your mask ain’t workin’ or somethin’, we gotta get you somewhere safe!”

“It's not alive.” David spoke in a soft, tender voice.

“What?” Jack spat back.

“The light only goes red when the mask doesn't see the host as alive.”

“No... No, it has to just be a crossed wire or somethin’.”

“Jack-”

“Hey, stop!”

It didn't stop. It looked to Jack as its footsteps began to quicken.

“No, please! Stop! **Stop, damn it!** ”

“Jack, shoot. It isn't itself anymore.”

“Don't make me do this again!”

It raised the pipe in its hand, stepping with clear and malicious purpose.

“ **Fuck!** ” Jack screamed, his voice cracking as a burst of light came from the end of the weapon he was wielding. Whatever life was left in the body was obliterated the second the beam made contact with the freshly minted corpse, the thing’s head burst into small chunks as the rest of it fell limp against the road.

There was a small silence that followed, save for Jack’s panicked breathing. Then, he swivelled around to face Kris and Susie.

“Don't. Leave. This. Bus.” He commanded with a weak voice that was on the verge of tears. With that, he stepped to his side of the bus and opened a hatch in the floor behind his chair. From it, he picked up a gasoline canister and stepped out into the city streets. With ease, he hauled the body onto his shoulder, his hands shaking as he held it. Then, with a disheartened sigh, Jack walked into an alley, out of anyone's view.

“What... was that?” Kris questioned.

“We don't know yet.” David spoke with a shake in his voice. “Bodies started vanishing from the morgue the day of the incident. Now they're starting to pop up in the city. This is the fourth one so far. Second one Jack has had to dispose of personally.”

“Then why weren't we informed? The files we were given said nothing of this.” Kris growled, clearly irritated.

“... I guess your files were outdated.” David coldly chided.

Susie slowly stepped backward to sit on the bench seat in shock. A new variable had entered the situation, something that usually didn’t happen unless it was stated outright that preparation for anything is recommended. Not only that, he said “vanished,” and not “moved,” meaning they have the potential to be just about anywhere. Perhaps even in the mines. They would have no way of knowing if any part of the former person’s personality or consciousness was still intact.

This all came along with the fact that the main threat they had come to deal with was still a vague one. “Like something inhaled too much of the smoke”, Daran said. Practically useless, but better than nothing, she supposed. Still, she wasn't too comfortable with any of this. Maybe this was the new normal for them. Maybe she had gotten too complacent slaughtering your average wendigo or skin-walker. A simple job to finish swiftly and go home. She had a feeling that complacency was a thing of the past now.

Jack opened the door and stepped into the bus once again, and for the brief moment that the door remained ajar, Susie could hear the faint sound of a crackling fire burning in the distance. Without a word, jack made his way to the other end of the bus, put away the gas can along with the MDC, and collapsed into his chair.. The bus shook as it revived, continuing its journey through the fog. As they passed the alley, Susie spotted a red flickering coming from the fog ahead, a sight she was all too happy to forget as the bus passed the alleyway.

Minutes passed in excruciating silence. The monotony of passing shaded street upon shaded street almost drove Susie to madness. This, to the relief of all the passengers aboard the bus, faded once a sign came into view.

“NOW ENTERING:

45th CC Gracewood Park”

Susie got up from her seat and looked out the bus's end window, hanging onto the closest grip bar. What met her eyes next was one of the most sobering displays of insignificance she had ever experienced.

A monstrous landscape of dead flora stretched across the horizon for dozens of city blocks until eventually ending in yet another row of seemingly endless towering buildings. The park itself was in a worse state than any of the city, with great vacuous chasms of darkness spreading across the land and splintering off into even more valleys that could've held infinite space inside them. Towering pillars of black smoke billowed out of the chasm at random spots. The park was vacant of any semblance of life besides a small number of dead trees that threatened to succumb to the abyss at any moment. What must have been grass at some point was now dark brown, sandy dirt, separated only by cracked cement paths, long abandoned. All of this was boxed inside a square of decapitated skyscrapers that obscured anything in its path. The entire rest of the world could've been endless stretches of cracked streets and shattered glass, and they would've been none the wiser.

As Susie surveyed the land, she spotted a lamp post on the edge of one of the chasms, the ground underneath it dipping slightly towards the bottom of the endless space below. Something was caught on it though, a fabric, she thought. It hung off of the top of the lamp post limply, dangling over the edge. It was just close enough for her to make out the detail. A red plaid pattern upon a near perfect condition shirt. Once this realization came to her, the land underneath the lamp gave way and crumbled into pieces, dropping both the light and the shirt into the chasm.

Just as her heart dropped to her stomach.

The bus stopped, less suddenly than last time, next to a group of masked humans and monsters. As the bus doors opened, the crowd shuffled into one set of doors while Kris and Susie exited out the other. The rough pavement met their feet with a shock, and they both took long needed stretches after the ride. An odd silence had wedged its way between the two that both of them acknowledged internally, but didn't feel right in breaking just yet. The violet sky hung above the pair as they looked to their left, finding a large industrial lift. Next to the lift's entrance was a tall, bald, smiling human in a pristine suit. “Tall” might have been an understatement, however, as the man was at least twice Susie’s height, who was an already tall monster in her own right. As the pair neared him, more of his features came into view, and she noticed that it wasn't a human at all. Its “skin” had a texture more akin to porcelain than actual skin, and it moved in an odd, artificial fashion.

“Please present your employee identification card before entering.” An oddly deep, androgynous voice rang out. Its face didn't move an inch.

“We're from the AIB. We were called here to investigate strange happenings in one of the sections of the mines.” Kris replied.

“Certainly. May I see your AIB identification cards, then?”

Susie slipped her hand into her pocket, taking out her card and showing it to the... thing. Kris did the same. The card requester looked down toward them in a deliberate motion, and its head made a horrid mechanical grinding noise for a few seconds before continuing.

“Approved. You're looking for floor M Twelve. MDC's are stored in a side room to the left of the entrance. Follow the map to sector E Seven. The rest is not mapped, and considered hazardous territory. Stay safe.”

“We will, thanks.” Kris replied, stepping onto the solid steel platform. Above the lift was an overhang of steel bars, cords, and pulley systems that ran to each corner of the platform. Once they were both settled, Kris scanned the barely lit up buttons on the lift's side, and hit the one labelled with “M12”. A few seconds passed before the lift buzzed with electricity, and in seconds the world raised up above the pair, sending them deeper and deeper into the earth. Gaps in the rock would occasionally show a view of the chasm side, blessing the platform with purple light for a few seconds before the rock covered it once more.

“Remember the last time we thought we bit off more than we could chew?” Susie remarked.

“Yeah.” Kris halfheartedly laughed, a gesture meant to hopelessly make light of the situation at hand.

“... I really feel like we're not supposed to be here, though. This feels like something a team two leagues above us would handle. Not the best reintroduction after a break.”

“It happens sometimes. Higher ups are too busy with other work, most lower level workers aren't good enough, so they pick the next best thing.”

“... And we're the next best thing, huh. That's not really inspiring, dude.”

A short pause followed before she continued.

“Is he gonna be okay?”

“Jack? I'm not sure. I hope so.” Said Kris, looking to his feet.

“Reminds me of when I first started this.”

Susie took a deep breath.

“... I saw something from that day again.”

Kris' voice turned to one of concern.

“Shit. What was it this time?”

“His shirt. It was gone in seconds, just like the box.”

“This sounds bad.”

“If it means anything at all, it means he's stalking me. It means he knows where I am, even when I'm about as far away from where it started as I can be.”

Susie shuddered.

“And I really, really don't want it to mean anything.”

Kris placed a hand on Susie’s shoulder. She turned her head to face him, or, more accurately, the mask that he wore.

“If it gets any worse, we'll deal with it, alright? In any way we can. I don't think it means anything, just the stress from these past few days getting to you. But... I've been wrong about this sort of thing before. I just want you to know that you won't be alone when we get there. We got into this together, and we'll get through it together, alright?”

A smile cracked through her worried face, and for the first time since she got here, it didn't matter if Kris saw it or not. The sight wasn't needed for it to be felt. The two embraced in a tight hug, Susie patting him on the back a few times as they did so.

“You're a good dude, Kris. Thanks.”

Kris had no way of responding that could ever hope to match such high praise.

The descent into the rock wouldn't stop for a while yet, but even in the darkness of the lift shaft, Kris and Susie's determination glowed brightly. The lift slowed, and eventually stopped, at a hallway carved into stone and supported by wooden beams. The passage's floor was obscured by a dark purple mist that hung just above the rock. The mist ebbed and flowed like a river, eventually spilling out into the lift shaft. Above, strung from the rafters and supports, were bright white lanterns that swung gently in a strange breeze. The human stepped inside first, with the dragon following close behind. The true suffocating nature of the place set in once their boots collided with the stone. An unknowable distance underground, far away from real civilization. This was what the people who lived here were exposed to almost every day. “How long had some of the miners toiled away here?” They thought. Weeks? Months? Years?

They felt the weight of the world above them, and heard the low guttural moans of stone under assault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Stinkin as always, as well as Gote_Herder, for editing.


	7. Violet Coast, Part Two

They attempted to ignore, at least for the time, the crushing dread that permeated their minds. The pair focused on the task at hand, continuing into a smaller passage on their left that led to a side room. The chamber was claustrophobic; they guessed that at most it could fit no more than half a dozen people at a time. The already narrow space was made all the tighter by the presence of wall spanning red lockers and a rotting wooden bench that sat in the middle of the room and ran from one end of it to the other. The lockers and the bench were all coated in a purple film near their bottoms. It seemed the closer to the mist something was, the more coated in purple filth it got. This extended to even the rock that encased the pair. Kris and Susie surveyed the room for a few seconds before they both noticed a piece of paper taped to one of the lockers.

“AIB” the note said, its letters scribled in blue pen.

Susie walked in front of Kris and popped open the locker the note was attached to, as he did, the rusted hinges let out a metallic screech. Inside were two MDC rifles, both hanging on metal hooks from rings attached to the end of their stocks. Near the rings were two charging cables which connected to batteries that rested on a shelf above the hooks. There were also two black leather belts, which holstered a pickaxe head each. Each grabbed a belt and a gun and were armed and ready in no time. They walked back into the main corridor and began to trepidatious delve into the cave system proper.

Faded maps on the walls guided them through the varientless tunnels. Sharp rock jutted out from the walls and threatened to slice open anything that so much as glanced off them . Sounds of MDCs chipping away at the rock echoed down the corridor like wandering ghosts. Encounters with these ghosts, after what felt like miles of walking, became infrequent. Soon the only noises left were the pair's footsteps and the deep rumble of tumbling rocks. These rumbles sometimes caused the lanterns to flicker, leaving them in suffocating darkness for brief bouts of time.

Minutes passed. The dragon and human walked together until they reached a part of the mines with MDCs and other mining equipment strewn across the ground outside a much smaller tunnel. The lights of the tunnel in which they resided weren't bright enough to fully illuminate the passage, and no other lights were present deeper inside the looming passageway.

“I think this is it.” Kris deadpanned.

“You ready?” Susie uttered.

“Nope.” Kris replied in earnest. “Let's go. The faster we get this done, the faster we're out of here.”

Susie nodded, and led the way into the claustrophobic passage, having to duck her head to even fit inside. Kris, on the other hand, popped right in without a bit of hassle. As they walked, their surroundings began to brighten, turning a dark green colour as the mask made up for the change in brightness. Susie thought it was neat, and wondered if the masks had any other hidden features. Kris was just glad they didn't have to lug around flashlights. With the assistance of their masks, Susie was able to see the tunnel opening into a larger room. Kris kept watch behind them, just in case.

The walls around Kris and Susie, especially the dragon, felt more as though they were closing in around them with each step they took. The mist only got thicker and more threatening as they traveled deeper. Their breathing quickened as the gravity of their situation began to press down on them. These horrid and unforgiving depths held no prisoners, and if the worst were to happen, they might have seen their last flicker of sunlight and not have realized it.

A horrid noise from the end of the tunnel snapped both the human and dragon back to full alertness. A booming robotic breathing resounded through the corridor, causing Susie to quickly raise her MDC and aim it down what little remained of the tunnel. Kris spun around, pointing his gun in the opposite direction. The source of the noise continued to make pained, wheezing inhalations that quickened the pair's heart rate as it drew closer. Susie's eyes grew wide as she watched an outstretched, fleshy purple limb clamber into her line of sight. The figure slowly withdrew from beside the corridor's entrance and...

Vanished.

Kris and Susie's ragged breaths reverberated up and down the passage.

“You saw that, right?” Susie spat as she did her best to keep her voice from carrying. 

“Yeah.” Kris replied with a nod.

“Let's keep moving.”

Susie moved further in, keeping her eyes locked ahead. She stepped down the hall until she reached the end, checking each corner of the larger cave in front of them. As they entered the more spacious path, they heard a faint, near inaudible howl of wind emanate from the tunnel ahead of them, which took a sharp right turn further on.

“Is that... wind?” Susie asked in disbelief.

“Yeah.” Kris replied. “Sounds like it.”

“How the hell does wind blow through tunnels all the way down here?”

“Guess we'll find ou-”

Another sharp wheeze from right behind Kris rung out and kicked his body into high gear. Too little, too late. Susie swivelled around to see Kris grasping and clawing at a pair of fleshy, bulbous violet arms constricting his neck. His MDC clattered to the floor as he panicked to tear himself from his assilant’s grasp. The dragon had little time to react, seeing that whatever was choking his accomplice was hiding behind his back. Without thinking, she ran over and rammed her forearm into Kris’s sternum, hard enough to knock him over, but not hard enough to harm him. The human fell on his back with a grunt as the grip on him loosened. Within a second, Kris rolled off his now prone assailant.

Susie tucked the butt of her gun into her shoulder and pointed it at the hunch-backed creature on the floor as it struggled to right itself. It's body structure was near human, but distorted enough to be uncanny. Its legs and arms were far longer than that of any human or monster the pair had ever seen, and its skin was made of pulsing, wriggling, bloated purple appendages that seemed to flail of their own accord. The gravel-laced wheezes and coughs it emitted came from its face which, unlike the rest of the body, wasn't made of skin at all. The thing’s face appeared to be a metal mask, similar in design to the ones Susie and Kris both wore but far larger. More unsettling was the way the metal flexed and squirmed. A red, flickering light flashed from the middle of the quasi face while beneath it, where a mouth would or should have been, the metal bulged and retracted in irregular intervals, as if the thing was struggling to breathe through the metal.

Susie absorbed the grotesque display before tensing her arms and pulling the carbine's trigger. A beam of pure, white hot heat shot from the end of the rifle and melted through the creature's left shoulder, the weapon wheezing out a high pitched squeal as it fired. The dragon had aimed for the creature’s head, but she missed her mark, which she only realized as she watched the wretched appendage plop to the ground in a steaming mess. The mask on the creature’s face wheezed and screamed a distorted, pained wail as it held its bleeding shoulder with its other hand, backing away to the wall of the cave. It then huddled into the fetal position as the metal under its flashing light quickened in its undulating. It rocked back and forth and shook its head violently as it began to mutter to itself in a near-inaudible agonized groan.

“They've stopped breathing, they've stopped breathing, they've stopped breathing, they've stopped breathing, they've stopped breathing, stopped breathing, stopped breathing, stop breathing, stop breathing, stop breathe, stop breathe, stop please, stop please, stop please, stop, please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop-”

Susie's shaking hands fired the weapon once more, cutting a diagonal line through the beast’s midsection as it screeched out in torment over and over, eventually falling forward to the ground where it ceased its movements and sounds for good. Kris and Susie stared at the creature for a few moments of dumbstruck awe before its body began to merge with the ground below it lay upon. Skin became rock and metal became stone as the body slowly metamorphosed, disappearing into the rock. Once it had fully merged, Kris gently walked over to his weapon resting on the ground and picked it up, panting a bit.

“You think that was it?” Kris breathed. Susie shook her head.

“No, there's gotta be more. Entire teams wouldn't have got wiped out if that was all there was.”

“... Missing.” Kris spoke with trepidation rattling his voice. “They went missing. They never found the bodies.”

Just as Kris finished his thought, another scream of agony similar to the one they had just heard rang out through the tunnels ahead, past the crook in the tunnel. The pair readied their rifles and stepped forward. The further into the dark tunnel they travelled, the more unpleasant noises they met. The chewing and crunching of bone, the gnashing of teeth, and hurried breathing. They rounded the corner, aiming down the hallway ready to fire at whatever they saw.

They determined it would be no use.

The tunnel in front of them moved and pulsed like a great violet intestine, contracting and relaxing like a rock-lined intestine. The surface of the rock was littered with panicked eyes and gaping mouths, from which multiple stalagmite teeth bent upwards and clacked together. No two eyes made a pair, nor did any sit above a mouth to make a face. The stone jaws hung open and asphyxiated, their claustrophobic throats bending and twisting into places far from view. Kris and Susie stepped gently across the rock as rough mumbling lips spoke incomprehensible jargon, careful to avoid any floor mouths in order to keep their limbs intact.

Perhaps, Susie pondered as she stepped, this was where all the workers went. Anything that was caught and detained by the creatures would be hauled into the walls themselves, becoming one with their surroundings and forming a new part of the living passage she was traversing. She shivered at the thought of being trapped, perhaps forever, in a petrified purgatory that offered no release of death, nor joy of life. As the pair continued down the passage, the mouths began to link with the eyes, forming twisted, sorrowful faces that continued to chatter and mumble amongst themselves.

The pair rounded another corner and saw a much longer passage awaiting them. The walls began to form arching, grasping hands the further they travelled into the tunnel. None of them attempted to grab Kris or Susie, instead most attempted to push themselves out of the rock they were hopelessly trapped inside. The hands slowly gravitated towards the faces, and these faces began to peel themselves from the rock. Kris and Susie quickened their pace as they trudged through the forest of body parts around them, bodies and appendages protruding from the walls more and more as they hastened to a run, dodging the mouths and hands as they burst out the other side of the tunnel and into a large cavern, both of them tripping and landing face first on the smooth ground below.

A strong wind brushed against their coats. Susie grunted and got to her feet, looking to her right. She saw Kris struggling to get up, and reached a hand out to him, lifting him to his feet with relative ease. 

Kris groaned in pain as he stood. “Ugh... thanks.”

“Yeah, no proble-”

Susie's words caught in her throat when she looked up. Her breathing deepened and her pupils widened, staring in awe at the sight before her as the night vision lens of her helmet deactivated.

In front of them was a large stone bridge that crossed a gorge made by a raging river, the source of the water came from a wall of ice that made up the entire back of the cavern. Bits of purple and golden sunlight shone through leaking cracks in the wall and cascaded down to not only illuminate the room, but highlight one particular element of the scenery. At the end of the bridge, on a large column of rock, sat a leaning, dilapidated lighthouse that was entirely encased in the ice. Considering Susie's recent dreams, the lighthouse stirred in her a degree of concern she normally only felt the moment before she and Kris plunged into the dark and unknown. 

Curled around the lighthouse, with its head at the base of the structure, was a massive centipede-like creature. Its beige skinned body was housed a whole host of closed eyes and sealed lips, all of which were scattered across its hide in no identifiable pattern or order. The many limbs that poked out from each side weren't legs at all, but an amalgamation of human and monster arms. The tail of leviathan rose far above the lighthouse while its head rested on a part of the tower encased by ice. At the front of its body was one massive, closed eye that was almost as tall as Kris. A thin layer of ice was all that stood between the eyelid of the beast and the rest of the world.

“Holy shit.” Sputtered Susie.

“Yeah. I bet that's what's causing all the anomalies in the tunnels.” Kris decided.

“You think? That thing, you think it’s still… alive?”

“No idea.”

“Best to make sure it isn't, though... guess we're too deep in it now, huh.” Susie sighed, her eyes still focused on the creature.

“They'd hate for us to come back with the job half done.”

“Well, let's get it done, then. The less time we spend in this place, the better. Ya think that bridge will hold?”

“Looks like it's been here a while, so it's probably sturdy enough.”

“Let's hope 'sturdy enough' is... sturdy enough.”

Susie followed Kris as they both attempted to keep themselves from looking down into the rapids angrily colliding with the rocks below their perch. Susie's mind was drawn to the cave they had just left. The faces. Would they have met a similar fate if the creature had successfully detained them? Was that why there weren't any bodies? The thought of being trapped in a suffocating skin of stone for the rest of her life chilled Susie to her core, perhaps even more than seeing the loci of her strange dreams appear before her. She wished she had told Kris about her dreams earlier, but they had seemed so insignificant then, too late now.

This changed everything. Was it the same lighthouse? Was it just a coincidence that there was a large beast coiled around it, in one of the deepest parts of the earth explored by man and monster? She wasn't sure, but the entire situation made her sick to her stomach. She missed when she didn't have to ponder after every case whether or not she did the right thing. Back then there had been things that just plain needed slaying. Now, nothing felt certain.

Stepping onto the platform surrounded by cliffs and water, they got a closer look at the beast. It was clear to them that there was effort made to excavate the thing, as evidenced by the scratches and chips missing from the ice nearest to its head. The indentations seemed to have been made from large claws or similarly sharp tools. The chill from the frozen prison sent shivers down the pairs’ spines.

“You think this is what's causing it, Kris?”

“Probably. Even if it isn't, it's probably a good thing that it's not unfrozen yet.”

“Yet.” Susie repeated with a grimace.

“Yeah. Looks like they tried to dig into it. Might be trying to free it.”

“So... how do we stop that from happening?”

Kris thought for a moment.

“We'll kill it.” He concluded.

“What? Are you sure?”

“Whatever's trying to dig this thing out either doesn't know how to use the MDC's ray, or can't because of the battery running out. You used yours, what, twice?” Kris answered, kneeling down next to the chipped away ice and aiming the carbine at the eye of the creature. “If these things can cut through rocks, they can probably cut through the skin of that thing, and the ice around it.”

“And what if it can't?” Questioned Susie, kneeling beside him in spite of her worries.

“It will.” He replied in confidence.

“If you're sure...” Susie replied.

Susie's head stirred with wonder and fear. She had hoped that putting an end to the massive creature would perhaps silence the suffering souls of the passageway behind her. If this had a chance of bringing any solace to the inhabitants of this cursed place, she would be willing to try.

“On three.” Susie decided, Kris replying with a nod.

“One...”

The pair's heart rates began to quicken.

“Two...”

The cold triggers of the carbine resisted their fingers.

“Three!”

The creature's eye shot open.

The pair gasped together, Kris fell on his back as the massive organ rolled its bloated black cornea around its frozen prison frantically for a few seconds. The eye then focused on the terrified Kris and Susie. Cracks shot through the ice surrounding it like lightning as its appendages began to shiver. It spoke to them in a deep, aged voice that echoed and reverberated not only through the environment surrounding them, but also inside their heads. The massive thing stared them down as it spoke two words.

“ **I. Am.** ”

With this declaration, massive chunks of the ice wall began to splinter off, falling into the chasm of water below. It became very evident to both Kris and Susie that if they didn't flee just that second, the caves would become their watery graves.

“Run! Now!” Kris yelped. Kris’ and Susie’s boots scraped on the ground as they darted towards the room's exit, their carbines secure in white-knuckled grips. All caution that the bridge to the creature had driven into them was wiped from their brains as true and immediate danger reared behind them. Once across, a cataclysmic roar of shattering ice blew through the caverns, followed by the rush of water as it flooded the caves. The pair would last until the gorge below them overfilled.

The living walls of the corridor leading to the creature's room began screaming out in one note, the continuous wails all combined to make a choir of hellish, ear grating noise. The hands and other appendages of the walls were now still. Kris and Susie thought nothing of it as they rounded the passage's corner and manoeuvred the tight corridor with the limited mobility they were allotted. As they exited the tunnel and shot through the passages, they did the bare minimum to pay attention to the maps that would lead them to the exit. All the while a low horn played through speakers that lined the tunnels, along with an automated voice message.

“Warning. Structural stability levels critical. All personnel are to evacuate immediately and retreat to the barracks, board the tram, and evacuate the city.”

This message blared through the tunnels on repeat as Kris trailed Susie, the closer to the exit they got, the more the tunnels began to fill with fleeing miners. Masked beings of various sizes and builds panicked and screamed their way to the exit, piling onto the lift to the surface. The roaring of waves crashing against the walls of the tunnels was getting closer, and the now aptly named flood lights began to shake and flicker. The pair were part of the last group to make it to the lift in time, and when they could wait no longer, they began their ascent. A blast of water erupted from the cave's entrance mere seconds after the lift began its rise. The dragon and human, among everyone else, silently prayed that the cave system would hold long enough for them to make it to the surface. Through the gaps in the wall that overlooked the great chasm, they saw what little remained of Gracewood park sink into the abyss. The supports below the pillars of land crumbling and sinking tons of the city into an unspeakable darkness.

The time spent in the lift felt like multiple eternities due to paranoia laced trepidation, but eventually, the lift reached the surface. Basked in a purple-orange haze, Susie and Kris felt short-lived relief. Their situation had improved, but they were still at high risk. Susie looked near the lift, noting that the tall monster that had allowed them into the mines was missing.

“What the hell is going on?!” One of the masked miners cried. Others shouted expletives as they ran toward the direction of the barracks. The tank bus hadn't arrived yet, and even at its slow crawl, riding inside it was sure to be far safer than trekking through the city without any form of cover. To make matters worse, the sky was darkening as the sun sank below the horizon line just as much of the land around the mine entrance had. In a couple of hours, the city would be plunged into pitch black. As twilight transitioned to night, the ground below the group shook, which caused another spat of panic to course through the group.

“Kris, let's go.” Susie barked. She grabbed Kris' hand in hers and began to run, the human beside her panting from the running, but keeping up nonetheless. Buildings from the areas of the city closest to the coast began to topple in on themselves, each skyscraper that collided with the ground sending shock waves through several blocks. Without the bus, the pair doubted they had a chance of reaching safety in time. This doubt became all the more prominent when the rumblings from below began to intensify. Their hearts dropped lower and lower still until the squealing metal and the sputtering engines cut through the din and disaster around them. Just as they reached the entrance to one of the suffocating city streets, the lights of the bus broke through the fog, accelerating much faster than anyone had assumed it could. The crowd began to run toward the vehicle, clambering up the treads after the drivers slammed the vehicle to a halt.

“Get in, get in!” Jack hollered from his driver seat. “If there ain't enough room then  **make** room, ain’t no one gettin’ left behind!”

Susie dropped her MDC to the ground and jumped up to the top of the treads, turning to help as many people up and into the bus as she could. Susie remained on the treads until she heard Jack shout.

“I think that's all of em, let's go!”

Susie nodded, and hopped through the doors and slid herself into the over packed interior just as Jack pulled a lever and slammed the aperture shut behind her. There were many more people inside than had escaped with them. Guessing from the body language of the passengers, it seemed like half were scared out of their minds, while the other half were confused. All of them were looking towards Susie and Kris, however, being the only ones with the AIB trench coats. Susie began to shake when she realized what was happening. Dozens of green lights shone from masks that hid terrified expressions and unsure glares. They were looking to her to answer questions that she didn't have the answers to.

Susie inhaled...

But the words caught in her throat.

The ground continued to shake.

The bus sputtered as it began to drive backwards, the pace still quite speedy compared to the snail crawl it had stumbled along at when it first took Kris and Susie to the mines. Miners returned to chatting among themselves, many on the verge of tears, while Kris sat silently. Susie stepped up to Jack, behind his seat.

“So.” He started. “I'm guessin' you found it.” Jack sighed.

“Y-Yeah.”

“And it was pretty bad, considerin' how the ground hasn't stopped rumblin' for quite a while.”

“Yeah. The mines got flooded. Something was trapped in the ice, near the coast. Looks like that ice was all that stood between the sea and the tunnels.”

“So... what was it?” Jack queried.

“Something... big. I've never seen anything like it.”

“I thought you folks were used to seein’ them sorts of things.”

“I-I've only heard about cases this big. Maybe they underestimated how daunting this was and sent less experienced people than what was needed.”

“So what yer saying is ya failed.” Jack sighed, his words carried in them no malice but the disappointment struck Susie nonetheless

Susie's words caught in her throat once again. The faintest hint of tears threatened to drop from her eyes. The feeling of failure constricted her lungs. In that moment, she was thankful for the mask more than ever.

“Now now.” Jack continued. “Don't ya beat yerself up over it. If anyone'd be understandin' about that sorta thing, it'd be us. Not much you can do but... hope people get yer plight. At least yer friend does.”

“Th-Thanks.” Susie replied, unable to force out any more words as regret and repressed tears choked her throat shut. 

“You're pretty lucky I came ‘round when I did, though. I was on my way with a fresh batch of miners when we got the warnin’. Technically I shoulda just started reversing but... no way I'd do that to my people. Even drove this thing faster than I usually do. Less gas efficient, but this is an emergency...”

“You're a good man.” Susie commended.

“Nah. I did what anyone should. It's a pity that ain't the standard.” Jack spat, his words laced with more spite then Susie imagined the old codger capable of. 

“What will you do once you're evacuated?” Susie asked, looking ahead as the lights of the bus pierced the fog, smoke, dust, and encroaching darkness.

“We wait at the station on the other side of the mountains for the company to show up. After that... I ain't sure. What about you two?”

“Gotta send a distress signal. Never had to do that before. I hear they show up pretty quickly after that, though.”

“It's that serious, huh.”

“Yeah.” Susie replied with a grimace.

“Well... Let's just hope we get outta here in time for us to be in the clear. Gotta keep my mind on the road, though. We'll talk more when we reach the barracks.”

“Sure. Thanks, Jack.”

The man nodded, returning his full attention to navigating what passed for a road.

Susie shoved her way back over to where she had left Kris. Surrounded by frightened strangers in a land far from home, in a life or death situation where nothing made clear sense. She had only one thought on her mind. What if she truly was alone? What if Kris had never joined the AIB, and Susie had made the decision to join by herself? Would she still have the determination to even get this far? Would the... other thing she's fighting for... would it be enough to keep her from straying into insanity or hopelessness? She hated that in times of rest, her mind was never truly restful. Always asking questions. Always frightened. Always unsure of the future, always ashamed of the past...

A soft, gloved hand squeezed Susie's tight. She looked to Kris, who was staring straight ahead.

“S-Susie?”

“Yeah?”

“... I'm sorry that this is what our lives have to be now.”

Kris let slip a shaky breath. One that betrayed the emotions his placid facade so often obscured. This was the closest she'd seen him get to crying since a long time ago, and the fact that he hadn't simply burst into tears despite everything they'd been through truly showed how resolute, how determined, he was. Despite her great stature, she was the one looking up to him for the most part.  _ But that's just it, isn't it? _ She thought.  _ Two sides of the same coin. My strength covers his weakness and his strength does the same for me. Far stronger together than apart. ” _

Susie raised her arm and wrapped it around him, holding him close.

“Don't be. I'm just glad I'm not alone.”

They stayed like that for a while. In the midst of strangers, in an unfamiliar place, in the worst of odds.

They still had each other. And that was more than either of them could hope for.

Minutes passed as people chatted, after a while the atmosphere became less tense. That was, until the bus reached the town square. As the massive vehicle pulled into the circular road, it slowed its movement until coming to a full stop. The chattering started to get louder as Kris and Susie got up from the seats they had managed to snag.

“Nobody leave the bus, and keep quiet.” Jack demanded, his voice even but authoritative.

When the pair saw the sight out the front window of the bus, they understood the severity of the situation. A sea of fog-obscured silhouettes with heads projecting crimson lights stood in a line that spanned the diameter of the circular road. All stood stone still and faced the bus. Susie very much regretted leaving her MDC back at Gracewood. Only a few of the passengers were still toting theirs. If the horde outside the bus attacked with the same ferocity as the lone wanderer from earlier...

Before Susie or Kris could formulate a plan, the bus started to rock back and forth as heavy gusts of wind collided with the frame. Outside, the red-visored figures began to disintegrate into powder which began to blow in the gale-force wind. The fog began to recede as well, as all of the fog was being blown from the area. As the sky cleared, Susie's heart dropped as she began to realize what was going on. This realization came to the bus in a wave of unease. The fog wasn't simply clearing, it was being consumed by the center of the city. From between the buildings and rubble, she could see distant smoke and fog congeal into the center of the city, where it disappeared from her sight. The only place the fog could be going was Gracewood park. And the only thing left of Gracewood park was a one way ticket to the rocky depths.

“We have to get out of here.” Susie gasped, grabbing Kris' hand and opening the doors.

“Wait, we don't-” Jack began before being cut off.

“If all that fog is going to the thing we found, it's probably using it to get stronger somehow. We have to go, Now!” Susie barked.

Silence followed the dragoness’s command.

Then, as if to punctuate her order, an ear splitting, low horn blared from the sky. The blast shook the ground and made Susie's bones vibrate within her flesh. She, along with a few others, stepped onto the rubble and pavement from the bus and looked to the sky for the first time since she arrived. The sky was an unnatural, starless field of darkness, broken only by the last flicker of the sun's light near the coast. It was in this fading light that Susie saw it. An unthinkably large, humanoid figure that towered over even the tallest of skyscrapers, far above the mountains. Its details were nonexistent, the skin of the titan being as dark a black as the sky above. The panic of the group increased tenfold, people and monsters alike nearly tramped each other on the way to the trams out of the city. Jack, David, Kris and Susie joined them, looking backward and watching the figure continue to rise.

Jack's panic subsided when he noticed the state of the barracks.

The front doors were overflowing with purple, fleshy rock that writhed like a tumor and sprouted rows and droves of teeth and appendages. The building's foundation, walls, and roof cracked wide open, revealing veins of even more pulsating lavender flesh. He began to think of all the men he'd lost in the mines. How many had died in the barracks, being treated for wounds they knew were fatal.

This wasn't the fate they deserved.

“Jack!” Susie screamed, snapping him out of his trance. The older man took one last look at the last remaining refuge of his fellow workers, and began running once more. The sky itself shook as many more horns sounded across the sky. The crowd of miners held their hands to their heads in an attempt to block out the noise, but the power of the horns could not be diminished . The water treatment plant in the far distance crumbled in on itself, sending waves of water to cascade down into the city. The tram station was now alive with dozens of hysteric people clambering into the only tram in the station as the threat of drowning loomed over them once again. As Kris and Susie entered the station, a powerful gust of wind exploded from the middle of the city. A loud crash rang through the air shortly afterward as all of the glass in the station shattered to pieces. Susie fell to the ground, and her vision went dark. The screen that allowed her to see outside of the mask was cracking and malfunctioning. She clawed at the mask in an attempt to get it off, ripping it off her face and sending it clattering to the ground. Kris did the same.

Susie lay in a small pile of broken glass, some of the larger shards dug into her skin. She paid no mind to it as she struggled to get to her feet, along with a few others who had failed to make it to the tram. Kris got to his feet before Susie, and grabbed her by her forearm, tugging her up to her feet. Keeping an arm around each other, they stumbled into the tram at last, collapsing on each other and facing backwards, toward the city. The last of the miners made it into the tram car and slammed the door behind them. Squealing metal, barely audible over the horns, sounded from the wheels below them as they began to recede from the city.

Susie had forgotten how much the wind stung her eyes, how the cold made her face feel stiff, how it felt to breathe unhindered. Her bloodshot eyes stared down the titan in the distance, seeing what had caused the shock wave that shattered the glass. The monstrous figure had sprouted two pitch black wings from its back that obscured the entire horizon with their span, nearly blocking what remained of the setting sun in its entirety. Brilliant, shining teeth began to form in its face as what could only be described as its mouth hung slack from its featureless face. An eyeless visage stared back at the tram as it entered the airlock at the mountain's base. The vehicle jolted to an abrupt stop as the heavy metal circular doors began to close. Susie expected the titan to make one last attempt at stopping them, to keep them from escaping its infinite glory. The titan didn't seem to pay any thought to them, however, even as the horns of its arrival blared on, and even as the water from the treatment plant flooded the streets, it simply stood, looking to the mountains. Practically unaware of their existence altogether.

Susie felt a strange mix of terror and relief.

The great metal doors boomed as they collided, shutting out the horns and apocalyptic trumpeting. For a few moments of relative peace, only the breathing of the tram's occupants silence. Not a soul spoke. Not even when the airlock doors began to open, nor when the tram resumed its journey. It was only when the tram reached the station, in the safety of the world outside of the city, that many of the occupants began to sob. Masks clattered to the ground all over the station as human and monster alike took deep, choked breaths of fresh, unfiltered air. Knowing they couldn't delay for long, the pair exited the station and walked through the moonlit parking lot. Snow blew in the chilled dusk wind, both Kris and Susie's unkempt hair blowing with it.

After the doors of the van were shut tight, Kris and Susie sat each on their own side of the vehicle. Susie stared ahead from the passenger seat as Kris dug around in the center console. Taking a panel off the bottom of the console revealed a large red button, which, with shaking hands, Kris pressed.

A few moments later, Susie's phone rang from within the glove compartment. She quickly retrieved it and accepted the call. A calm male voice responded.

“This is Nacarat, calling to confirm your distress call. May I have your identification number, please?”

_ Nacarat? _ Susie thought. Any voice on the other end that wasn't Berdly's was a shock to the system. Had they finally hired another receptionist? Regardless, she knew the answer.

“We don't need to give a name our identification number in cases of emergency.”

“Indeed.” Nacarat affirmed. “Threat level?”

“Titan class, level... three.”

“That bad, huh. Yeah, alright, I'll send em over. Get back to HQ when you can.”

With those parting words, the call abruptly cut off, and Susie and Kris were left alone in the van once more. The silence didn't last for long though, as Kris suddenly inhaled in pain, a grimace across his face.

“Shit.” He lamented. “I don't think I can drive.”

“Why?” Susie replied with a hint of concern.

“Glass in my leg. Guess I didn't notice. Adrenaline, and all.”

Susie reached up to the ceiling and flicked a light on, revealing a glass shard sticking out of the side of one of Kris' legs, gushing blood. Her eyes widened, mouth agape with terror.

“Shit, dude.”

“It's... It's fine-”

But before Kris could continue, Susie was already headed to the back of the van in search of medical supplies.

Kris couldn't help but crack the faintest smile.

“Thanks.” He whispered.

The drive back was long and arduous, filled with thought and remorse. As Kris laid sleeping in the passenger seat, Susie pondered the possibilities they faced. If they had shot into the ice with the beams after all, would it have made a difference? Could they have killed the thing before it had matured into that behemoth? Would it have only served to make the situation worse? Again and again, the possibilities of how they could have handled the situation plagued her. Susie began to grow tired of it. The monotony of useless thought after useless thought. It was then that she made the decision to try to block these thoughts out as well as she could. No matter what happened before, it was done now. She could never know if how she and Kris had responded was the right way to handle the situation. Time spent thinking about how things played out or how they could have done better could be better spent thinking of how to avoid such situations in the future. The ice was bound to melt anyway, and mining would only drive the city deeper into turmoil. The pair sped up the inevitable. Nothing more, nothing less.

She sighed as the endless stretch of road fled behind her. Snow turned to tundra, tundra turned to hills of green grass, and hills turned to city lights. It was in the darkness of the early morning that the pair finally arrived at the facilities' HQ, surrounded again by skyscrapers that soared to the clouds like great, towering obelisks. Susie went in by herself, not wanting to wake Kris. She figured he was better off unconscious, and unaware of the pain he was surely feeling. The blistering light of the humming fluorescent tubes above greeted her as they always had, with blinding indifference. She sleepily maneuvered her way to the Hunting Bureau's front desk.

A reddish-orange cloaked monster with thin black crosses for eyes sat at the desk, his sizable horns and slight smile contrasting him from Berdly. That, and the fact that he seemed to be missing arms. He didn't even notice her come in until she was directly in front of him.

“Nacarat?” Susie asked.

“Oh, hey. Susie, right? You're to wait just over there.” He gestured with his head over to a metal row of seats that lined one of the walls. “Boss'll be here soon.” He added.

Susie nodded. She would have pressed him for more info, but she was in no mood to talk. She waited on the uncomfortable metal chair for a few minutes as Nacarat, without moving a muscle, typed away at his computer with some sort of remote manipulation technique. The footsteps of the head executive made their way down the hall, and before long, one of the doors opened.

Out stepped a monster in a blue two piece suit, paired with brown dress shoes and white gloves. From the neck down, he could be mistaken for a normal, albeit tall person. However, his head and neck consisted of smooth black rock with three horizontal lines that cut through the face, from which a dim white light shone. He calmly stepped in front of Susie and looked down to her.

“Can you stand?” A clear, middle aged male's voice asked.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Do.” He deadpanned.

Susie got to her feet, only slightly wincing as she stood at attention, still about a head and a half shorter than the man in front of her.

“Under normal circumstances I would be quite irate with you, Susie Gardon. The threat was inadequately taken care of, and a major source of valuable metal has been wiped off the map.”

The man paused, before interjecting.

“Where is your partner? Kris Dreemurr.” He asked, leaning into her.

“I--n the van, sir. His leg is hurt badly, and he's sleeping. I patched it up as best as I could but I'll have to take him to the ho-”

The man raised a hand to her, and she became quiet once more.

“Do with him what you must. That is not my concern. Do you know his rank?”

“Y-Yes, he's a rank four hunter.” Susie replied.

“And you?”

“Rank three.”

The man turned his head to face Nacarat.

“Can you bring up the Violet City case file and tell me what the recommended rank is for the hunters assigned to it?”

“Rank eight, sir.”

There was a pause. Then, the head executive took in a breath, and exhaled shortly after in a drawn out, frustrated fashion.

“And who, exactly, is the one that signed off on sending Kris Dreemurr and Susie Gardon to Violet City?”

“Alex Grayson, in roo-”

“That  **fucker** is at it again, huh?” He replied with spite as he speed-walked down another hall. The sound of another door opening, followed by a male voice screaming that was cut off in an abrupt manner, echoed through the open door to the hallway. Susie's eyes stared down the door in horror. An uncomfortably long silence followed, both the concerned receptionist and frightened dragon stood frozen in fear. Then, the footsteps returned, and with them, the head executive. He sighed once more, looking down at his hand, seemingly making sure the glove was tightly fit.

“Three strikes, three strikes.” He muttered under his breath. “The new transfers aren't worth shit.”

He looked up from his hand, facing Nacarat, who bared a neutral expression upon his feature-scant face.

“Well... you're alright, I guess.” He admitted, as he cleared his throat and turned back to face Susie before continuing. “Take two weeks off. Let your partner's wound heal up. Take care of him if needed. As I said, under normal circumstances I'd be unhappy with your performance. But these are not normal circumstances. We'll be in contact with you again once a case is ready. Now, If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got seven rank eight hunters to ensure the safety of, and I’ve got three cases I need to get covered to account for their absence in. You're dismissed.”

Susie nodded humbly. The man stormed off, and disappeared into the halls of the Hunting Bureau.

“Fuckin’ ingrate transfers, I swear to…”

Susie sat motionless in the lobby, the reddish man at the desk returning to his work.

“Two weeks...” Susie repeated.

“Not bad.” Nacarat added. “Usually get three, but it's hard to complain.”

“Wh-Where the hell did you transfer from where three weeks is regular?” She asked with a concerned look.

“Latterville, in the northeast. You guys get less breaks?”

“We're lucky if we get any at all.” She grumped.

“... Oh. Suddenly it makes sense why so many hunters were transferred here recently.” He sighed. “Well, my shift's just about over. You have a good one.” He announced, standing from his seat and beginning to pack his things. Susie didn't reply, and instead walked out of the Hunting Bureau in a sleep deprived, stressed stupor.

The door to the van slammed shut, and Susie slipped the keys into the ignition before stopping herself short. Her hands parted from the keys, and she laid back in her seat, the disgusting smell of dust and leather wafting from the back cushions. She watched the faint trickling of sunlight through the alleys of the city. Reflections of this light beamed off the windows of the waking buildings, and illuminated the slumbering streets in a thin golden haze. Her mouth was slightly open in wonder as her eyes unfocused, taking in the scenery. They hadn't spent long in the city, but it felt like ages. Susie reached over and pushed a button, rolling the window down and letting the fresh air into the cab. She sighed in relief, and smiled slightly. Two weeks to heal...

Kris coughed in his sleep from the passenger seat, causing Susie to jolt out of her reprieve. She looked to him, and her face turned to one of solemnity. He looked terrible. Sunken eyes, messy hair, bleeding from a few spots on his forehead. It was enough to make her tear up.

“We'll get you fixed up, dude. Don't worry. Just a little while longer.”

The van revved to life, and Susie drove through the golden streets on the way to the hospital.

...

Nacarat stood in front of a monstrous steel door in a basement level of the AIB building. He looked it up and down, sizing it up, taking in every detail. Absorbing all the information he could from it without directly touching it.  _ Has to be many tons in weight. _ He thought.  _ Metal is probably reinforced too, and for good reason. That’s all assuming that there’s only one door between the outside and inside. _

The words “BEAST CONTAINMENT” glared back at him from the door with malice and ill intent.

He huffed, turning and walking down the hall, leaving the mysteries inside and beyond the door to their own devices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Stinkin_Thinkin and Gote_Herder for the editing once again, can't stress enough how important it is and how thankful I am.


End file.
